Dr. Zacharias Pieri
Title: Associate Professor
CV:
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Email: zpieri@usf.edu
Office: C208
Zacharias Pieri, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of International Relations and Security
Studies at the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus. He joined the
faculty in 2016, after completing his Postdoctoral Research Fellowship with the Global
Initiative on Civil Society and Conflict at the University of South Florida Tampa
campus. He earned his PhD in Political Science from the University of Exeter, UK,
where he also graduated with a Masters degree in Modern Middle East Studies, with
distinction. His undergraduate degree is from the University of St. Andrews, Scotland,
where he read International Relations and Modern History.
Dr. Pieri’s research focuses on the relationships between religion, politics and violence.
His focus is on the ideological and strategic development of Boko Haram, and the evolution
of Islamic State’s franchises. He has consulted on international projects investigating
counter-radical discourses amongst Muslim communities around the world. In the past
he has worked on the adaptation of Islamist movements and the contentious politics
of mosque construction in the west. He is a world expert on the Tablighi Jamaat movement.
Dr. Pieri regularly publishes on Islam in contemporary societies. Dr. Pieri has advised
UK and US governments on conflict in Africa. Pieri regularly appears in the media
including the BBC, Canadian Television News, the Washington Post, and International
Business Times among others.
Research
Pieri, Zacharias. 2019. Boko Haram & The Drivers of Islamist Violence. London & New York: Routledge.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2019. “Daily Ritual, Mission and Transformation of the Self: The Case of Tablighi
Jamaat”, NUMEN:International Review for the History of Religions. 66(4): 360-380
Pieri, Zacharias and Jacob Zenn. 2018. “Under the Black Flag in Borno: Experiences of Foot Soldiers
and Civilians in Boko Haram’s ‘Caliphate’”, Journal of Modern African Studies.56(4): 645-672.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2018. “Identifying Counter Radical Narratives from Within British Muslim Communities:
The Case of “Muslim Patrol”” Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs. 38(1): 39-56, DOI: 10.1080/13602004.2018.1432148.
Hassan, Idayat and Zacharias Pieri. 2018. “The Rise and Risks of Nigeria’s Civilian Joint Task Force: Implications for Post-Conflict
Recovery in Northeastern Nigeria”, in Zenn, Jacob (ed.), Boko Haram Beyond the Headlines: Analyses of Africa’s Enduring Conflict,West Point: Combating Terrorism Center.
Zenn, Jacob and Zacharias Pieri. 2018.“Boko Haram” in Silke, Andrew (ed.), RoutledgeHandbook of Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism, Oxford and New York: Routledge.
Zenn, Jacob and Zacharias Pieri. 2017. “How Much Takfir is too much Takfir? The Evolution
of Boko Haram’s Factionalization”. Journal for Deradicalization. 11(3): 281-308.
Deckard, Natalie and Zacharias Pieri. 2017. “The Implications of Endemic Corruption for State Legitimacy in Developing Nations:
An Empirical Exploration of the Nigerian Case”. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 30(4): 369-384
Pieri, Zacharias and Jacob Zenn. 2016. “The Boko Haram Paradox: Ethnicity, Religion,
and Historical Memory in Pursuit of a Caliphate ”, African Security, 9:1, pp. 66-88
Pieri, Zacharias and Atta Barkindo. 2016. “Muslims in Nigeria: Between Challenge and
Opportunity”, in Mason, Robert (ed.), Muslim Minority - State Relations: Violence,
Integration and Policy. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2015. Tablighi Jamaat and the Quest for the London “Mega-Mosque”:
Continuity and Change. London and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
Pieri, Zacharias. 2014. “Anyone For Tabligh?” Critical Muslim, Issue 10, pp. 101-113.
Pieri, Zacharias; Woodward, Mark; Yahya, Mariani; Hassan, Ibrahim; Rohmaniyah, Inayah.
2014. “Commanding Good and Prohibiting Evil in Contemporary Islam: Cases from Britain,
Nigeria and Southeast Asia.” Contemporary Islam, 8:1, pp. 37-55.
Pieri, Zacharias and Rafael Serrano. 2014. ‘Insurgency Prolonged: Nigeria’s Lack of
Strategic Adaptation & The Rising Boko Haram Death Toll’, West Africa Insight, May
Issue, Centre for Democracy and Development, Abjua.
Serrano, Rafael and Zacharias Pieri. 2014. “By the Numbers: The Nigerian State’s Efforts
to Counter Boko Haram” in Pérouse de Montclos, Marc-Antoine (ed.), Boko Haram: Islamism,
Politics, Security, and the State in Nigeria, Ibadan, Leyden, IFRA-Nigeria, Leyden
University Press, Waposo Series, N°2.
Pieri, Zacharias, 2012 Tablighi Jamaat: Handy Books on Religion in World Affairs.
London: Lapido.
DeHannas, Daniel and Zacharias Pieri. 2011. 'Olympic Proportions: The Expanding Scalar
Politics of the "Olympics Mega-Mosque" Controversy.' Sociology, 45:5.
Githens-Mazer, Jonathan, Robert Lambert, Abdul-Haqq Baker, Safiyah Cohen-Baker and
Zacharias Pieri. 2010. ‘Muslim Communities Perspectives on Radicalisation in Leicester,
UK’, Centre for Studies in Islamism and Radicalisation: Aarhus, Denmark.
Teaching
Dr. Pieri’s teaching interests are in the areas of International Relations and Security
Studies including:
- Conflict in the World
- Understanding Extremism
- Islam in the Modern World
- Social and Religious Movements
- Qualitative Methodologies
- Globalization
- Migration and Citizenship
Dr. Pieri is available to supervise Ph.D. candidates in religion and conflict, understanding
extremism, Islamist movements, and the changing dynamics of security.