SCHOOL of INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

American University · Washington, D.C.

FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES -- John T. Picarelli

John T. Picarelli
E-mail: pic@american.edu
Phone: 202-885-2813

Professor Picarelli is an expert in transnational threats and their impact on national and homeland security. His research focuses on transnational organized crime and terrorism as an issue of international political economy and as an issue of international security.

Professor Picarelli has obtained and overseen research programs totally $1.2 million to date. His projects include the revision of curriculum at the US Border Patrol Academy, a study of the links between organized crime and fissile material smuggling, the overlap between organized crime and terrorism, how organized crime perpetrates the trafficking in persons globally, organized crime's use of information technology, the role of organized crime in peace mission areas and how transnational gangs perpetuate identity theft.

Prior to joining American University, Professor Picarelli served as an analyst at Pacific-Sierra Research Corporation, where he advised the defense and intelligence communities on organized crime, terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. He has advised numerous international organizations, government agencies and private entities on issues related to his research, including the UN, SECI, NATO, US Department of Defense, US Department of Homeland Security and the Center for Security and International Studies.

Professor Picarelli's recent publications include an article exploring the changing nature of the crime-terror nexus, a peer-reviewed chapter on organized crime as a source of terrorist financing, a peer-reviewed chapter on the history of human trafficking and a chapter exploring transnational organized crime as a security issue.

Professor Picarelli completed his Ph.D. at the School of International Service at American University in 2007. His dissertation explores the influence of historical trends on the manifestation of contemporary trafficking in persons, with special emphasis on the role of state institutions. He earned his M.A. in International Affairs from the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh, and his B.A. in International Relations from the University of Delaware.

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