Skip to content
Headshot of Max Abrahms
Max Abrahms
Associate Professor of Political Science
617.373.2796
Expertise
civil war, comparative politics, government response to terrorism, human security, insurgency, International Relations, Iran conflict, ISIS, NATO, nonviolent protest, Russia Ukraine war, terrorism

Max Abrahms in the Press

Fox News

Al Qaeda chief invites foreign fighters to train in Afghanistan, target West: ‘Safe haven for terrorists’

“The fact that al Qaeda leaders are now calling for foreign fighters to come to Afghanistan substantially increases the odds of foreign fighters heading there. This development will be unsurprising for hawks who warned about the dangers of withdrawing from Afghanistan,” Max Abrahms, terrorism expert and professor of political science at Northeastern University, told Fox […]

Max Abrahms for Northeastern Global News

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praying with hands uplifted in front of a large crowd, also praying.

Iran’s strike on Israel can be seen as ‘declaration of war,’ Northeastern expert says

Max Abrahms, associate professor of political science, says the attack is significant because it was launched directly from Iran.
The Crocus City Hall burning in Moscow after a terrorist attack.

Following Moscow attack, terrorism expert says ‘it’s only a matter of time’ before terrorists strike the US again

Max Abrahms, a leading expert on terrorism, breaks down the latest attack in Russia, and what it might signal for U.S. homeland security.
Smoke billowing from an apartment building in Ukraine that had been hit by a Russian missile.

Could the Israel-Hamas and Russia-Ukraine wars escalate into World War III?

With tensions flaring in the Middle East and Europe, can the two crises snowball into one global war: World War III?

Here’s why the drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani could lead to more violence, not less

Taking out the leader of a militant group—such as Soleimani, who commanded Iran’s powerful Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps—often results in the group “paradoxically becoming even more violent, because lower-level members with even less restraint become empowered,” says Northeastern associate professor Max Abrahms.
Special Police, Army, and other units move toward the scene in Paris suburb Saint-Denis on Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2015. Heavily armed police surrounded a suburban Paris apartment in a raid targeting the suspected mastermind of the Paris attacks. Credit: KAMIL ZIHNIOGLOU/Sipa via AP Images

When corporations respond to terror attacks with acts of kindness—and when they don’t

When governments or communities are targeted by terrorism, businesses tend to respond with charitable support. But the story changes when companies themselves are at risk, Northeastern researchers have found.

So the US has pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal. What does that mean to me?

President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the landmark international nuclear deal with Iran, announcing that stringent economic sanctions against Tehran will be reinstated. “How we’re better off in terms of U.S. national security, I’m not entirely clear,” said political science professor and terrorism theorist Max Abrahms.

The global implications of Trump’s Syria strike

Was the Trump administration’s military strike in Syria a symbolic show of force or something more? According to assistant professor Max Abrahms, a terrorism theorist at Northeastern, it seems that the U.S. retaliatory strikes “were intended only to be a warning about the costs of using chemical weapons.”
Photo from BBC News (World) Twitter (@BBCWorld)

The terror in Nice and security across the EU

France is reeling from its third major attack in 19 months after a lone terrorist sped a truck into a crowd of people gathered to watch Bastille Day fireworks. The attack killed at least 84 people and injured more than 200 others. We asked Northeastern experts to analyze these types of “lone wolf” terrorist attacks, the media’s use of graphic footage from the scene, and what the terror in Nice could mean for the European Union’s security procedures.

Faculty experts examine a range of issues in Brussels attacks

The horrific bombings in Brussels on Tuesday have left another European city reeling after a terrorist attack. In the aftermath, we asked an interdisciplinary group of faculty members to offer insight into the events.

3Qs: The Islamic State threat and its political impact

Terrorism theorist Max Abrahms explains how the Islamic State group’s reach beyond its centralized area should not come as a surprise, and neither should its impact on politics here in the U.S.