Alexandra Phelan is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University. Her research interests include insurgent governance and legitimation activities, insurgent women, political violence and organised crime. Her PhD examined why the Colombian government alternated between counterinsurgency and negotiation with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Based on an extensive examination of negotiation documents and primary FARC material, fieldwork and interviews with former and active FARC, ELN, M-19 and AUC members, she critically examined the role that insurgent legitimation activities had on influencing Colombian government response between 1982-2016. Alex’s research at Monash Gender, Peace and Security Centre (GPS) focusses on gendered approaches to understanding terrorism and violent extremism, where she leads the research stream. Before commencing a postdoctoral fellowship with GPS, Alex was a visiting researcher at Georgetown University’s Centre for Security Studies, Walsh School of Foreign Service. She was previously a researcher at Monash University’s Global Terrorism Research Centre (GTReC) working on a project partnered with the Attorney General’s Department examining radicalisation and countering violent extremism within the Australian context.