Alexandra Phelan

Lecturer in Politics and IR

Melbourne, Australia

Dr. Alexandra Phelan is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University. Her research interests include insurgent governance and legitimation activities, insurgent women and gender, political violence, illicit financing and organised crime with particular focus on Latin America. She has published on insurgent legitimation strategies, the Colombian conflict, and women in terrorism. She is the editor of the book Terrorism, Gender and Women: Toward an Integrated Research Agenda (Routledge, 2021). Alex was the Deputy Director of the Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre (Monash GPS) between 2020-2022, where her research at GPS focused on gendered approaches to understanding terrorism and political violence. Alex completed her PhD in 2019, which examined why the Colombian government alternated between counterinsurgency and negotiation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Publications

Engaging Insurgency: The Impact of the 2016 Colombian Peace Agreement on FARC's Political Participation
FARC’s Pursuit of “Taking Power”: Insurgent Social Contracts, the Drug Trade and Appeals to Eudaemonic Legitimation
Special Issue Introduction for Terrorism, Gender and Women: Toward an Integrated Research Agenda
Navigating gender in elite bargains: Women's movements and the quest for inclusive peace in Colombia
Terrorism, Gender and Women: Toward an Integrated Research Agenda
Gendered radicalisation and ‘everyday practices’: An analysis of extreme right and Islamic State women-only forums