Angel Rabasa

Photo of Angel Rabasa

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Senior Political Scientist
Washington Office

Education

Ph.D. in history, Harvard University; Frank Knox Fellow at St. Antony's College, University of Oxford; B.A. in history, Harvard College

Overview

Biography

Angel M. Rabasa is a senior political scientist at the RAND Corporation. He has written extensively about extremism, terrorism, and insurgency. He is the lead author of The Lessons of Mumbai (2009); Radical Islam in East Africa (2009); The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey (2008); Ungoverned Territories: Understanding and Reducing Terrorism Risks (2007); Building Moderate Muslim Networks (2007); Beyond al-Qaeda, Part 1: The Global Jihadist Movement and Part 2: The Outer Rings of the Terrorist Universe (2006); and The Muslim World After 9/11 (2004). He has completed the research on patterns of Islamist radicalization and terrorism in Europe, and is currently working on a project on deradicalization of Islamist extremists.

Other works include the International Institute for Strategic Studies Adelphi Paper No. 358, Political Islam in Southeast Asia: Moderates, Radicals, and Terrorists (2003); The Military and Democracy in Indonesia: Challenges, Politics, and Power (2002), with John Haseman; and Indonesia's Transformation and the Stability of Southeast Asia (2001), with Peter Chalk. Before joining RAND, Rabasa served in the U.S. Departments of State and Defense. He is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the International Studies Association, and the American Foreign Service Association.

Rabasa has a B.A. and Ph.D. in history from Harvard University and was a Knox Fellow at St. Antony's College, Oxford University.

Previous Positions

Political-military positions in the Departments of State and Defense

Recent Projects

  • Radicalization, counter-radicalization, and deradicalization
  • Political and ideological trends in the Muslim world
  • Terrorism and insurgency in Latin America, Europe, Southeast Asia, and Africa

Selected Publications

Angel Rabasa et al., Building Moderate Muslim Networks, RAND Corporation (MG-574), 2007

Angel Rabasa et al., Beyond al-Qaeda, Part 1: The Global Jihadist Movement, RAND Corporation (MG-429), 2006

Angel Rabasa et al., Beyond al-Qaeda, Part 2: The Outer Rings of the Terrorist Universe, RAND Corporation (MG-430), 2006

Angel Rabasa et al., The Muslim World After 9/11, RAND Corporation (MG-246), 2004

International Institute for Strategic Studies, "Political Islam in Southeast Asia," Adelphi Paper 358, 2003

Angel Rabasa and Peter Chalk, Colombian Labyrinth: The Synergy of Drugs and Insurgency and Its Implications for Regional Stability, RAND Corporation (MR-1339), 2001

Honors & Awards

  • Frank Knox Fellow, St. Antony's College, University of Oxford

Languages

Spanish, French, Italian, Greek

Recent Media Appearances

Interviews: BBC; Christian Science Monitor; CNBC; CNN; Fox; Independent Television News (UK); NPR; PBS; United Press International; Voice of America

Commentary: International Herald Tribune; Los Angeles Times; San Diego Union-Tribune; Wall Street Journal

Commentary

How to Arm Syria's Rebels — May 22, 2013

  • U.S. News & World Report

Time to Arm Libyan Rebels: Here's How — Apr 13, 2011

  • Christian Science Monitor

Indonesia as a Test Case — Mar 19, 2003

  • International Herald Tribune

Moderates Against Extremists — Oct 31, 2002

  • International Herald Tribune

Stop Snubbing Indonesia's Military — Aug 2, 2002

  • International Herald Tribune

Is Democracy Always Worth the Trouble? — Apr 24, 2002

  • Los Angeles Times

Working Together: Megawati and the Terrorists — Mar 11, 2002

  • Asian Wall Street Journal

Violence Unraveling the Fabric of Society — Jun 17, 2001

  • San Diego Union-Tribune

Publications