Who Are the Terrorism Researchers? A Study of Scholars in an Evolving Field, 1970–2019

Debates rage about diversity and representation. How diverse is terrorism studies? How has it changed over time? This article analyzes data on the nearly 2,000 terrorism scholars in the Web of Science databases. It also identifies the scholars who have published the most articles. The vast majority of terrorism scholars have worked in a small set of countries (mostly the United States, United Kingdom, and Israel). The list of the most prolific scholars is more homogeneous than the broader sample. In general, however, the field is evolving, with increasing geographic, gender, and racial diversity, as well as professionalization (PhD status).