Meet Professor Assaf Moghadam

I am Assaf Moghadam and I made Aliyah to Israel in 2011 together with my family and immediately joined Reichman University (then still known as the Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya). I was born and raised in Germany but have also lived in the United States for over 15 years. 

At Reichman University, I served as Dean of the Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy for five years, from September 2019 to September 2024. I am currently directing the MA Program in Counter-Terrorism and Intelligence and the BA Track in Security Studies and Counter-Terrorism at the Raphael Recanati International School.

In addition, I direct the Program on Democratic Resilience and Development (PDRD) | Konrad Adenauer Stiftung Israel. I also serve as a Fellow at the International Institute for Counter Terrorism and at the Institute for Policy and Strategy. Outside of Reichman University, I am also affiliated with the Combating Terrorism Center at United States Military Academy at West Point and the Center on National Security at Fordham Law, where I am a fellow.

I studied at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (BA), The Fletcher School at Tufts University (MALD and Ph.D), and completed several postdoctoral fellowships at Harvard University and Columbia University.

 My areas of expertise include international security, terrorism and counter-terrorism; insurgency and counterinsurgency; armed conflict; and proxy wars. At #RU, most of my students know me as a co-instructor of the first-year class "Introduction to Security Studies and Counter-Terrorism."

 What achievements are you most proud of from your time as Dean?

 When I look back at my time as Dean, I am most proud of the fact that I "survived" as Dean during a very challenging period that included the Covid-19 crisis, the judicial upheaval, and the first year of the ‘Swords of Iron’ war. I am proud of the amazing team I assembled. Together, we were able to bring about major changes to the Lauder School, including a systematic reform of the academic curriculum that resulted in a modern, up-to-date, practical, and innovative academic program.⛓️‍💥

Along the way, we were able to increase enrollment at the Government School by double-digit percentages; open several new think tanks and programs such as the Institute for Liberty and Responsibility and the Program on Democratic Resilience and Development (PDRD); and establish a PhD program in Government!

 In my many years of research on terrorism, insurgency, and political violence, I have learned that the causes of armed conflict are complex. It is important to address this problem with modesty and humility, and we need to recognize that there are no "silver bullet" solutions to terrorism or related forms of political violence.