Dale Pankhurst

Dale is an ESRC NINE DTP PhD Candidate at Queen's University Belfast who recently completed his PhD thesis titled "From Control to Conflict: Explaining Change in State-Militia Relationships during Armed Conflict and Civil War" under the supervision of Dr Andrew Thomson and Dr Mike Bourne. He is due to graduate in July and currently teaches modules on security and terrorism, and political research methods at Queen's. He previously completed both his BA in International Politics and Conflict Studies and his MA in Politics at Queen's, receiving the Frank Wright Prize for excellence during postgraduate study.

Dale's PhD research project investigated complexity and variation in state-PGM relationships. There is a growing body of empirical analyses on extra-dyadic actors that refers to “pro-government militias” (PGMs), conceived broadly as non-state armed organizations that are pro-government in some way. Because these groups are defined by their “pro-government” orientation, researchers often assume that governments directly or indirectly manage or delegate tasks to PGMs. However, a closer inspection reveals a variety of relationships with the state.

Taking case studies from Northern Ireland and Colombia, Dale's project contributes to a better understanding of state-PGM relationships by providing theories that explain variations in state-PGM relationships, from open state-led paramilitaries through to hostile engagement between the state and counter-insurgency organisations.