Dr Julie Norman

Associate Professor (Teaching) in Politics and International Relations
Room: G.04, 36-38 Gordon Square
Email: julie.norman@ucl.ac.uk
Twitter
Website
Podcast

Biography

I am an Associate Professor (Teaching) in Politics and International Relations, with a focus on conflict, political violence, Middle East politics, and US foreign policy. I am also a Senior Associate Fellow (International Security/Middle East) at RUSI.

I have a PhD in International Relations from American University in Washington, DC, with concentrations in Human Rights and Conflict Resolution, and a BA from Duke University. Prior to joining UCL, I was a Research Fellow at the Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at Queen’s University Belfast, and a Lecturer in Politics at McGill University and Concordia University in Montreal, Canada. I have also held fellowships at MIT and Dartmouth College.

Research

I have a diverse research portfolio with interests in conflict, political violence, and divided societies. I use mixed methods to investigate security, rights, and resistance in protracted conflicts, with a focus on the Middle East, and I have used experimental methods to assess public opinion on political violence and polarization in the US and the UK. I am currently writing a book on the political history of Gaza (Polity 2025).

I am the author of The Palestinian Prisoners Movement: Disobedience and Resistance (Routledge 2021), and four books on unarmed resistance and creative activism, including Sounding Conflict (Bloomsbury 2023), Understanding Nonviolence (Polity 2015), and The Second Palestinian Intifada: Civil Resistance (Routledge 2010). I have also published on political imprisonment, conflict and development, and critical approaches to preventing/combatting violent extremism (P/CVE), with recent publications in Perspectives on Politics, Security Dialogue, the Journal of Global Security Studies, PS: Politics & Political Science, and other journals. 

Practice

My academic research and teaching is complemented by my work in policy and practice. I have worked as a frequent consultant with the British Council in Iraq, and I was the lead researcher on the multi-year project ‘Conflict Sensitivity and Community Resilience in Conflict Zones’ with the NGO Christian Aid, with fieldwork in central Africa and Myanmar. In the past I was a researcher for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the US Institute of Peace (USIP), and I have provided expert analysis to the US State Department, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD), and other national and international agencies. 

Media

I am a frequent guest on the BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, other media outlets, and I have published widely in the Washington Post, The Hill, Newsweek, and The Conversation. I also hosted the podcast, The Julie Norman Show.

Selected publications

Books

• Norman, J. M. and Hallward, M. C. Gaza. London: Polity Press. (forthcoming)
• Magowan, F., Rebelo, P., Lehner, S., Norman, J. M. and Phillips-Hutton, A. (2023) Sounding Conflict. London: Bloomsbury.
• Norman, J. M. (2021) The Palestinian Prisoners Movement: Disobedience and Resistance. London: Routledge. 
• Hallward, M. C. and Norman, J. M. (eds.) (2015) Understanding Nonviolence. London: Polity Press.  
• Hallward, M. C. and Norman, J. M. (eds.) (2011) Nonviolent Resistance: Activism and Advocacy in the Second Intifada. New York: Palgrave MacMillan.
• Norman, J. M. (2010) The Second Palestinian Intifada: Civil Resistance. London: Routledge.

Journal articles

• Gift, T., Norman, J. M., and Davidson, R. (2023) 'Assessing Public Attitudes toward Random versus Symbolic Terrorist Targets: Survey Experimental Evidence.' Journal of Global Security Studies 8.4. 
• Norman, J. M.  and Mikhael, D. (2023) 'Rethinking the Triple-Nexus: Integrating Peacebuilding and Resilience Initiatives in Conflict Contexts.' Journal of Peacebuilding & Development 18.3. 
• Norman, J. M. (2022) ‘Other People’s Terrorism: Ideology and the Perceived Legitimacy of Political Violence’, Perspectives on Politics, FirstView, pp. 1–18. 
• Norman, J. M. and Mikhael, D. (2021) ‘Collaboration in Commissioned Research: Benefits and Challenges of Scholar–Practitioner Partnerships in Conflict Contexts’, PS: Political Science & Politics, 54(3), pp. 554–557. 
• Norman, J. M. (2021) ‘Negotiating Detention: The Radical Pragmatism of Prison-based Resistance in Protracted Conflicts’, Security Dialogue, 53(2).
• Norman, J. M. (2020) ‘Beyond Hunger Strikes: The Palestinian Prisoners’ Movement and Everyday Resistance’, Journal of Resistance Studies, 6(1), pp. 40–68.
• Norman, J. M. (2018) ‘The Mobility Myth: Risk and Resilience of Refugee Youth in the MENA Region’, Forced Migration Review.
• Norman, J. M. (2013) ‘Memory and Mobilization: Identity, Narrative and Nonviolent Resistance in the Palestinian Intifadas’,  Quest: Issues in Contemporary Jewish History, 5. 

Book chapters

• Norman, J. M. and Foerch, C. (Forthcoming) ‘Former Fighters and Preventing Violent Extremism in Lebanon’, in G. Clubb, R. Scrivens and M. Islam (eds.) Former Extremists: Roles in Preventing and Countering Violence. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Norman, J. M. (2023) ‘Resistance: Performing the Frontline’, in F. Magowan, P. Rebelo, S. Lehner, J. M. Norman and A. Phillips-Hutton (eds.) Sounding Conflict. London: Bloomsbury.
• Norman, J. M. (2021) ‘Terrorism in Israel/Palestine’, in R. English (ed.) The Cambridge History of Terrorism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 149–172).
• Mikhael, D. and Norman, J. M. (2020) ‘Getting Local Engagement Right: Key Considerations for Local-level P/CVE Research’, in K. Aryaeinejad (ed.) Researching Violent Extremism: Context, Ethics, and Methodologies. Washington DC: United States Institute of Peace (USIP).
• Norman, J. M. (2015) ‘“We Do Not Work for Peace”: Reframing Nonviolence in Post-Oslo Palestine’, in K. Schock (ed.) Civil Resistance: Comparative Perspectives on Nonviolent Struggle. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, pp. 35–58.

View a full list of publications on my website

Teaching

I currently convene the undergraduate modules: ‘Political Violence,' ‘Middle East Politics,’ and ‘America in the World (US Foreign Policy),' and I am developing a new module on 'Disagreeing Well.'

I have also taught modules on: ‘International Conflict and Cooperation,’ ‘Globalisation and Populism,’ ‘Human Rights and International Justice,’ ‘Social Movements,’ ‘International Development,’ and ‘International Security.’