EXPERTS ADVISORY

As the investigation of the Paris attacks continues, more questions are being raised about the strategy to fight the Islamic State, how terror groups may be exploiting the migrant crisis in Europe and the best ways to guard against future threats.

Experts at the University of Michigan are available to discuss these issues:

Juan Cole, professor of history, can discuss how Muslims are reacting to the Paris attacks. He studies the ongoing political change in the Arab world.

Cole recently wrote on his blog Informed Comment: “Terrorism is a tactic of extremists within each religion, and within secular religions of Marxism or nationalism. No religion, including Islam, preaches indiscriminate violence against innocents.”

Contact: 734-764-6305, jrcole@umich.edu

Pamela Ballinger, associate professor of history, studies human rights, refugees and displacement.

Ballinger wrote in a recent blog post: “However daunting and overwhelming Europe’s refugee problem may appear at this moment, Europeans confronted much greater challenges from internal refugee emergencies in the past and did so in the face of the devastation wrought by war.”

Contact: 734-647-4888, pballing@umich.edu

Mark Tessler, professor of political science, conducts public opinion surveys throughout the Middle East and studies attitudes toward political Islam. He will soon be releasing a book on the subject. Tessler also co-directs the Arab Barometer Survey project.

Contact: 734-615-9149, tessler@umich.edu

Julia Sonnevend, assistant professor of communication studies, researches coverage of major media events. Her current book project, “Stories Without Borders: The Making of a Global Iconic Event,” explores practices of transnational storytelling and the making of global iconic events.

Contact: 734-936-2535, sonneven@umich.edu