Rich Nielsen, researcher on radical Jihadism, for the Chronicle of Higher Education

October 17, 2013

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard's Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT's Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen's research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen's recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric's professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard’s Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT’s Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen’s research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen’s recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric’s professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard's Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT's Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen's research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen's recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric's professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard’s Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT’s Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen’s research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen’s recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric’s professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard's Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT's Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen's research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen's recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric's professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard’s Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT’s Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen’s research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen’s recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric’s professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard's Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT's Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen's research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen's recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric's professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard’s Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT’s Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen’s research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen’s recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric’s professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard's Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT's Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen's research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen's recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric's professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

Rich Nielsen is a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard’s Department of Government, photographed here at Harvard on April 29, 2013. He is expected to receive his Ph.D. on May 30 and will start working as an Assistant Professor at MIT’s Department of Political Science on July 1st. Nielsen’s research focuses on radicalism and jihad in the Arab-speaking Muslim world, looking at the reason why some clerics turn radical and preach jihad. Nielsen’s recent findings suggest that the extent of a cleric’s professional network and job prospects are a strong indicator for radicalism.

A little while ago I photographed Rich Nielsen for the Chronicle of Higher Education's coverage of his work. As part of his PhD at Harvard, he gathered evidence that suggests that the quality of one's professional network and career prospects are a very strong indicator of whether or not a person will turn to Islamic jihadism. Nielsen has found that clerics with poor job prospects are more likely to preach a doctrine of extremism and jihad. It was a very interesting topic to chat about while taking the portraits.

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