Tanja Marie Hansen is an assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, Aarhus University. She earned her PhD in 2021 from the University of Southern Denmark. Her research focuses on political mobilization, violent extremism, terrorism, and online and offline communication among extreme political actors. Her latest research is related to the research project 'STANDBY' and focuses on how ordinary citizens can help address and reduce the negative effects of online hate speech. She publishes widely in both classic political science journals and more specialized terrorism and communication journals. Tanja's research is interdisciplinary and draws connections across political science, economics, and communication studies. Methodologically, she is a pluralist with published research that builds on everything from machine learning and survey experiments to interview studies and archival-based qualitative analysis.
I deal with the darker sides of politics. My research focuses on political actors outside the usual political channels, such as terrorists, repressive regimes, and online extremists. I am particularly interested in how (potentially) violent political actors communicate and how we as a society can address the challenges posed by political hate speech without compromising democratic ideals such as freedom of speech and assembly. My latest research is related to the research project 'STANDBY' and focuses on how ordinary citizens can help reduce the negative effects of online hate speech. My research profile is interdisciplinary and draws connections across political science, economics, and communication studies. Methodologically, I am a pluralist with published research that builds on everything from machine learning and survey experiments to interview studies and archival-based qualitative analysis.
I teach in both the undergraduate and graduate programs in Political Science at Aarhus University. Recently, I have taught courses such as Introduction to Political Science, Methods II (statistics and causal analysis), the bachelor's elective Your Online Life, and the master's elective Political Violence – From Riots to Terrorism. I have given guest lectures at, among others, Central European University and Richmond University based on my research into terrorists' communication strategies, and – when time allows – I give talks on the phenomenon of 'terrorism' to interested high schools. I supervise master's theses and bachelor's projects at the Department of Political Science and Global Studies.
I am part of two professional networks related to my research. These are the International Academic Partnerships for Science and Security (IAPSS) and the newly established TrygFonden Network for Civil Society Research. Additionally, I occasionally contribute as a background source for news media coverage of politically violent events.
