Dr. Shannon Nash

Dr. Shannon Nash studies past and present terrorist threats and attacks as well as Canadian, American, and international defence, security and counterterrorism policies. Nash received her Ph.D. in History from the University of Toronto with a focus on 20th Century American History, Terrorism, and International Relations. Her doctoral thesis looked at the reality of al Qaeda espionage methodology and how the idea of a sleeper agent was perceived and adapted to fit the terrorist threat posed by al Qaeda from the 1990s onwards. She is currently revising a manuscript focusing on the pre-9/11 period and missing the nature of the threat posed by al Qaeda as well as work on North American perceptions on enemies within. Nash’s research has focused on ascendant fears of an enemy within after 9/11, the fluidity of the “terrorism” label, how the label is informed and applied to a violent attack in Canada, education and training in national security and counterterrorism in Canada, lasting traumatization of direct and indirect victims of terrorism, ascendant fears of an enemy within after 9/11, and she led expert roundtables on Counterterrorism Resilience: Expert Roundtables on Canadian National Security and Countering Violent Extremism.