Dr David Parker is a Lecturer in Politics & International Relations at Aston University. David’s research focuses on the effects of radicalisation prevention initiatives, how counter-terrorism communication strategies can be improved to help agencies more effectively reach vulnerable individuals and contemporary US-Russian relations. His work has been published in a range of leading journals, including Critical Studies on Terrorism, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Risk Analysis and European Security.  In addition to his research David is an experienced counter-terrorism practitioner, with eight years of experience delivering Prevent as a local authority Prevent manager in West London. Based on his research and experiences he is regularly invited to brief governments and security services across Europe and America.

David also contributes to research and practice through his positions as an Academic Advisor to the European Commission’s Radicalisation Awareness Network, Deputy Chair of the Aarhus University Research Unit on Radicalisation and the Prevention of Extremism, and as a member of the Editorial Board for the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism – The Hague. Prior to joining Aston University, David was a Marie-Curie Fellow at Aarhus University in Denmark, and before that a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London, where his research focused on preventing, interdicting and mitigating lone-actor terrorism, as part of the EU-funded PRIME project. David has a wide range of teaching experience, convening modules including ‘International Relations Theory’, ‘Global Current Affairs’, ‘Political Violence, Counter-terrorism and Human Rights’ and ‘Russia in the 21st Century: Foreign Police, Identity and Security’.

Research Interests

• Countering Violent Extremism
• Strategic Communication
• US-Russian Relations
• International Relations
• Policy Development and Evaluation

Subject areas

• Conflict and Security
• International Relations
• Policy and Society

Publications

Parker, D., (2019) US Foreign Policy towards Russia in the Post-Cold War Era: Ideational Legacies and Institutionalised Conflict and Cooperation (London: Routledge).

Pearce, J. M., Parker, D., Lindekilde, L., Bouhana, N. and Brooke Rogers, M. B. (2019), ‘Encouraging public reporting of suspicious behaviour on rail networks’, Policing & Society, https://doi.org/10.1080/10439463.2019.1607340

Pearce, J. M., Lindekilde, L., Parker, D., and Brooke Rogers, M. B. (2019), ‘Communicating with the public about marauding terrorist firearms attacks: Results from a survey experiment on factors influencing intention to 'Run Hide Tell', Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13301

Parker, D., Chapot, D. and Davis, J. (2019), ‘Prevent and Society: An analysis of criticisms of the Prevent Strategy’s impact on social relations, with reference to work in two local authorities’, Feminist Dissent, 4, https://doi.org/10.31273/fd.n4.2019.411

Parker, D. et al., (2018) ‘Press coverage of lone actor terrorism in the UK and Denmark: Shaping the Reactions of the Public, Affected Communities and Copycat Attackers’ Critical Studies on Terrorism, https://doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2018.1494792

Parker, D. et al. (2017), ‘Challenges for effective counter-terrorism communication: Practitioner insights and policy implications for preventing radicalisation, disrupting attack planning and mitigating terrorist attacks’, Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1057610X.2017.1373427

Parker, D. and Davis, J. (2017), ‘Counter-Radicalisation at the Coalface: Lessons for Europe and Beyond’, RUSI Newsbrief, Vol.37, No.1.

Tsygankov, A. P. and Parker, D. (2015), ‘The Securitization of Democracy: Freedom House Ratings of Russia’, European Security, Vol.24, No.1, pp.77-100.

Parker, D. (2013), Book review – The Cold War by John Lamberton Harper’, The International Spectator, Vol.48, No.1.