Prof. Dr. B.A. de Graaf (Beatrice)

Position:
  • Professor


Telephone number: +31 (0)70 800 9574
E-Mail: b.a.de.graaf@cdh.leidenuniv.nl
Faculty / Department: Faculteit Campus Den Haag, Centre for Terrorism & Counterterrorism
Office Address: Campus Den Haag
Postbus 13228
2501 EE Den Haag



Fields of interest

  • History of national security in the West (19th-21st century) 
  • (Counter-)terrorism and political violence
  • 'Securitization' and International Relations 
  • Contemporary Dutch, German (and to a lesser extent, American and Italian) History

Research

Research centers around the vidi research project ‘The History of National Security, 1945-2010’ investigates the construction of the National Security State after 1945 as a coherent system of institutions, instruments, measures and ideas concerning national security threats and interests. We focus on the Netherlands, but draw comparisons to the United States, (West-)Germany, the United Kingdom and, incidentally, to other relevant countries. When and how were threats put on the agenda, how did the process of ‘securitization’ (Copenhagen School) develop since the early 19th century? 

See for more information the Enemies of the State project website 

Apart from this research project, De Graaf initiated a NIAS research theme group on the topic of 'Terrorism Trials' (2010/2011). She deals with the wider social and political causes and consequences of terrorism trials in the West. 

A third, smaller, project investigates the role of 'dangerous women' (Gevaarlijke vrouwen), within terrorist and radical groups, as well the way they were perceived and combatted by counterterrorists (scheduled for 2011).

Teaching activities

  • Leergang Terrorisme & Contraterrorisme
  • 'Waar waren wij bang voor? De geschiedenis van binnen- en buitenlandse (politieke) dreigingen van 1945 tot heden', BA 2/3-course Department of History/Leiden University, Fall 2010-Spring 2011

Curriculum Vitae

  • Beatrice de Graaf (1976) studied Modern History and German at Utrecht University and in Bonn. She received her PhD degree in December 2004, in Utrecht (Across the Wall. The GDR, the Dutch churches and the peace movement).
  • She worked as assistant professor at the Department of International History at Utrecht University. In 2007 she changed to the Centre for Terrorism and Counterterrorism of Campus The Hague, Leiden University, where she was appointed associate professor in 2009 and full professor for Conflict and Security History in 2012.
  • In 2009, she commenced the vidi-project ‘Enemies of the State, the making of a national security state in the western world, 1945-2001’. She recently finished her monograph on motives, practices and effectiveness of security measures in Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and the United States in international comparative perspective.
  • In 2010, together with Willem Schinkel (Erasmus University Rotterdam) and inspired by Jaap de Wilde (Groiningen) she founded the Research Network Securitization in the Netherlands.
  • She is a member of the editorial board of Studies in Conflict and Terrorism, Perspectives on Terrorism, Journal of European Intelligence Studies; and the Zeitschrift für Auswärtige und Sicherheitspolitik; board member of the Koninklijk Nederlands Historisch Genootschap (Royal Dutch Historical Association).
  • In 2010/2011 she is fellow at the NIAS; Since 2011, she is a member of The Young Academy/The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 2011, she was awarded the Jubileum Prize of the National Women Professors Network. Together with her students, she was awarded the KNAW Onderwijsprijs that same year.

Key publications

  • Waar zijn wij bang voor? Veiligheidsdenken en de angst voor de ander. FORUM Jaarlezing Utrecht/Rotterdam: Forum/Guys & Godoy, 2011).
  • Evaluating Counterterrorist Performance: A Comparative Study (Abingdon: Routledge/Francis & Taylor, 2011).
  • With Erwin Muller and Joop van Reijn(eds.), Inlichtingen- en veiligheidsdiensten(Alphen a/d Rijn: Kluwer 2010).
  • With Duco Hellema, Civic Diplomacy. Diplomatie: tussen macht en mensenrechten.SIM special 33. Met medewerking van Leon van Damme (Utrecht: SIM, 2011).
  • Theater van de angst. De strijd tegen terrorisme in Nederland, Duitsland, Italië en Amerika (Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Boom, 2010).
  • ‘Killing It Softly? Explaining the early demise of left-wing terrorism in the Netherlands’ (together with Leena Malkki), in: Terrorism and Political Violence Vol. 22 (December 2010) No. 4, pp. 642-659.
  • ‘The Dutch COIN-approach: Three Years in Uruzgan, 2006-2009’ (together with George Dimitriu), in: Small Wars and Insurgencies, Vol. 21 (2010) No. 3, pp. 429-458
  • ‘The Van Gogh Murder: a New Threat from Homegrown Terrorism in The Netherlands’, in: Bruce Hoffman and Fernando Reinares (red.), Leader-Led Jihad (New York: Columbia University Press, forthcoming 2012).
  • ‘How to Counter Radical Narratives: Dutch Deradicalization Policy in the Case of Moluccan and Islamic Radicals’ (together with Froukje Demant), in: Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Vol. 33 (2010), No. 5, pp. 408-428.
  • Nicole Colin, Beatrice de Graaf, Jacco Pekelder, Joachim Umlauf (eds.), Der »Deutsche Herbst« und die RAF in Politik, Medien und Kunst. Nationale und internationale Perspektiven (Bielefeld: transcript Verlag, 2008).
  • Over de Muur. De DDR, de Nederlandse kerken en de vredesbeweging (Amsterdam: Boom, 2004). Translated and adapted in: Über die Mauer. Die DDR, die niederländischen Kirchen und die Friedensbewegung (Münster: Agenda Verlag, 2007)
  • With Ben de Jong and Wies Platje (eds.), Battleground Western Europe. Intelligence operations in Germany and the Netherlands in the 20th century (Apeldoorn: Het Spinhuis Publishers, 2007).
  • With Gert van Klinken, De Geschiedenis van de Theologische Universiteit Kampen 1834-2004 (Kampen: Kok, 2005).

Last Modified: 30-01-2012