Aaron Anfinson
MEd, PhD
Co-Founder
Aaron Anfinson develops and assesses individual and collaborative research projects that respond to issues of counterterrorism, post-conflict humanitarian assistance, and US foreign policy. He evaluates research methodologies and facilitates the publication of findings in peer-reviewed journals and policy briefs.
He is the Primary Investigator of a project analyzing the manufacture and emplacement of explosives in Iraq and Syria, highlighting the challenges of reconstruction. Additionally, he is both Primary and Co-Investigator of projects related to migration, enslavement and insecurity.
He received his doctorate from the University of Hong Kong and has over a decade of international experience working in Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Anfinson is also an award winning photographer, documenting issues ranging from Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement to the January 6th siege on the US Capitol Building.
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Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications
Nadia Al-Dayel, Aaron Anfinson and Graeme Anfinson
Captivity, Migration, and Power in Libya
Journal of Human Trafficking (2021)
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Aaron Anfinson and Nadia Al-Dayel
Landmines and Improvised Explosive Devices: the lingering terror of the Islamic State
Studies in Conflict and Terrorism (2020)
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Aaron Anfinson
visualising “statehood” as a tactic
for the legitimisation of non-state actors
Terrorism and Political Violence (2019)
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Nadia Al-Dayel and Aaron Anfinson
the Islamic State's reflexive projection of statehood
Critical Studies on Terrorism (2018, 11(1))
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Book Chapters
Aaron Anfinson
Hong Kong's Paper Cities: Heterotopia and the Semiotic Landscape of Civil Disobedience​
in Malinowski and Tufi (Eds.)
Reterritorializing Linguistic Landscapes (2020).
New York: Bloomsbury
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Essays and Invited Commentary
Aaron Anfinson and Nadia Al-Dayel
The threat of the Islamic State's extensive use of improvised explosives
International Centre for Counter-Terrorism--The Hague
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Aaron Anfinson
The "China Virus" and the Dialectics of China-US relations
Dossier China After COVID-19: Great Challenges Under Heaven
ISPI (Institudo per gli studi di politica internazionale)
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Recent Conferences and
Invited Speaking Engagements
Global Rights Defenders Podcast
Episode 9, July 30, 2022
International Studies Association
Panel on Migration and Security, April 7, 2021
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Technology and Governance: Exploring law and innovation in the absence of state governance
University of Oxford (Virtual), January 28-29, 2021
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International Studies Association (Cancelled due to COVID-19)
Honolulu, Hawaii, March 26, 2020
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Society for Terrorism Research International Conference
Oslo, Norway, June 20, 2019
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Movements: Protest, Politics and Activism
Nottingham Contemporary Art Museum,
United Kingdom. July 6, 2018
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British International Studies Association Conference
Bath, United Kingdom. June 13, 2018
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Terrorism and Social Media Conference (TASMconf)
University of Swansea, United Kingdom, June 27, 2017
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Departmental Seminar Series
School of English, University of Hong Kong, April 27, 2017
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InCoLAs PhD Seminar Series
University of Copenhagen, Denmark. August 8-10, 2016
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Sociolinguistics Today and Tomorrow
University of Hong Kong. October 2-3, 2015
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Linguistic Landscapes (LL7)
University of California Berkeley. May 7-9, 2015
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