My main research interests are religion, gender, and political violence, and how these intersect with each other. I pay particular attention to women in conservative violent movements, the impacts of gendered and racialised narratives, and how individuals engage with religion in violent spaces.
Women in the Islamic State
One strand of my research focuses on Western women’s participation in the Islamic State. I write about how narratives about gender and Islam have shaped how we perceive and respond to them. Much of my research in this area is centred around discussions of agency, and who is and is not deemed an agent.
Publications:
(2024) “Networks, Marriage, and Socioeconomics: Comparing the Men and Women of the Islamic State“, Studies in Conflict & Terrorism. [Open Access]
Working papers:
- The Allure of Violent Patriarchy: Gender Beliefs and Women’s Decision to Join the IS (Under review)
- Who are the Western Women of the Islamic State? Exploring Assumptions about Women and Agency in Violent Networks
- Looking for Utopia: Religious Beliefs among the Western Women of the Islamic State
Men in the European Far-Right
Another strand of my research looks at men in far-right violent groups in Europe. As more figures in this sphere call for a return to tradition, I explore what this tradition is, how religion relates to it, and how this relates to constructions of masculinities. In the future, I will also be investigating threads of Traditionalist and apocalyptic thought in these spaces.
Working papers:
- Jesus or Zeus? Men, Masculinities, and Religion in the Extreme Right
Julia Cañas Martínez 