Dr. Ryan Scrivens is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. He is also an Associate Director at the International CyberCrime Research Centre (ICCRC) at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Canada and a Research Fellow at the VOX-Pol Network of Excellence in Ireland. Dr. Scrivens conducts problem-oriented interdisciplinary research with a focus on terrorists’ and extremists' use of the Internet, right-wing terrorism and extremism, and hate crime. Many of his research projects are derived from his engagements with front-line practitioners in law enforcement and intelligence agencies, as well as in social media and tech companies.
A hallmark of his research is employing advanced quantitative methods and machine learning tools to better understand right-wing extremists’ use of the Internet and associated technologies. He complements this approach by also conducting in-depth interviews with current and former violent extremists, as well as law enforcement and community activists. As a result, he has become a leading international expert on right-wing terrorism and extremism, known among his peers for conducting innovate and cutting-edge empirical research.
Dr. Scrivens has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters, conference proceedings, and policy notes in the past five years. His recent work appears in Terrorism and Political Violence, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, New Media & Society, and Criminal Justice Policy Review. He is also co-editor of Right-Wing Extremism in Canada and the United States (Palgrave, 2022) and Former Extremists: Preventing and Countering Violence (Oxford University Press, forthcoming 2023). In addition, he has presented his findings before practitioners and policymakers at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the UK Home Office, the Swedish Defence Research Agency, and the United Nations, among many others. His research has been funded by Public Safety Canada, the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society, and VOX-Pol. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of Terrorism and Political Violence. He received the 2022 Early Career Impact Award from the American Society of Criminology Division on Terrorism and Bias Crime.
Selected Publications
- Scrivens, Ryan. (In press). Examining Online Indicators of Extremism Among Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists. Terrorism and Political Violence.
- Scrivens, Ryan, Amanda Isabel Osuna, Steven M. Chermak, Michael A. Whitney, and Richard Frank. (2021). Examining Online Indicators of Extremism in Violent Right-Wing Extremist Forums. Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. Ahead of print, 1-25.
- Scrivens, Ryan, George W. Burruss, Thomas J. Holt, Steven M. Chermak, Joshua D. Freilich, and Richard Frank. (2021). Triggered by Defeat or Victory? Assessing the Impact of Presidential Election Results on Extreme Right-Wing Mobilization Online. Deviant Behavior, 42(5), 630-645.
- Scrivens, Ryan, Thomas W. Wojciechowski, Joshua D. Freilich, Steven M. Chermak, and Richard Frank. (2021). Comparing the Online Posting Behaviors of Violent and Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists. Terrorism and Political Violence. Ahead of print, 1-18.
- Gaudette, Tiana, Ryan Scrivens, Garth Davies, and Richard Frank. (2021). Upvoting Extremism: Collective Identity Formation and the Extreme Right on Reddit. New Media and Society, 23(12), 3491-3508.
- Scrivens, Ryan. (2021). Exploring Radical Right-Wing Posting Behaviors Online. Deviant Behavior, 42(11), 1470-1484.
- Scrivens, Ryan, Thomas W. Wojciechowski, and Richard Frank. (2020). Examining the Developmental Pathways of Online Posting Behavior in Violent Right-Wing Extremist Forums. Terrorism and Political Violence. Ahead of print, 1-18.