Olivia Kearney

Olivia Kearney is a member of the Editorial Board of the International Counter-terrorism Review, and a Research Analyst at NextGen5.0.

Olivia joined the International Centre for Counter-terrorism in April 2019 where she worked on assembling research for Mali (Dis-) Engagement and Re-Integration related to Terrorism (MERIT) as well as data gathering for a database of European Terrorism attacks (TERRA).

Olivia holds a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice from Leiden University in the Netherlands and a Bachelor’s degree from Rhodes University in Memphis, Tennessee, where she majored in Economics and Psychology. Her Master’s thesis focused on the US Travel Ban, with the notion of the self-fulfilling prophecy and unintended consequences in mind. It included a comparison with the Stop and Frisk Policy that had been previously implemented in the US, to see how policies established under the guise of national security can sometimes do more harm than good.

Prior to joining ICCT, Olivia was living in Dallas, Texas and working as an Investment Analyst at a Real Estate Investment firm. This work allowed her to gain a unique perspective on the realities of running a business, as well as learning to manage different stakeholders. With her background in Economics and Psychology and a passion for human behavior and decision making, she then turned her focus to the pathways of radicalization and potential de-radicalisation and reintegration avenues.