Rachel Schmidt

Junior Affiliate (PhD)

Rachel Schmidt is a PhD Candidate at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs in International Conflict Management and Resolution, and her dissertation focuses on men and women’s disengagement from political violence. Specifically, she is examining how insurgent groups in Colombia frame their mission and construct identities in order to maintain cohesion, looking at what happens when these frames lose resonance or breakdown. She is particularly interested in the gendered dimensions of insurgent group cohesion, and the differences in men and women’s disengagement decisions and trajectories. She completed her doctoral fieldwork in 2018, which included 114 interviews across Colombia, including 99 in-depth interviews with former members of guerrilla and paramilitary groups. Rachel has also conducted fieldwork in the UK, Ireland, and Canada on the effects of biases and stereotypes on counterterrorism policy and practice. She has received research grants from SSHRC, IDRC, TSAS, Global Affairs Canada, The Simons Foundation, and Carleton University, and she has several forthcoming publications in Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Terrorism and Political Violence, and International Journal. Rachel is currently a Senior Editor with Open Global Rights and a consultant for Public Safety.

PUBLICATIONS

Duped: Why Gender Stereotypes are Leading to Inadequate Deradicalization and Disengagement Strategies
Published in 2018 • TSAS WP 2018-07
Rachel Schmidt


Picture of Rachel Schmidt

Website:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelanneschmidt

Skip to content