Ori Swed , Ph.D. Associate Professor - Sociology

Areas of Specialization

Director, Peace, War & Social Conflict Laboratory https://www.pwscl.com/ 

Director, Texas Security Center https://www.texsec.org/home

My research focuses on security, conflict, technology, and organizational change in contemporary warfare. Across this work, I examine topics such as private military and security companies, violent nonstate actors, drone adoption, information operations, and the changing character of war. My work aims to bridge sociology and security studies by combining theoretically grounded social science with policy-relevant analysis.

Current Research Interests

My research examines how contemporary conflict is shaped by organizational transformation, privatization, technological change, and new forms of violence. A central strand of my work focuses on the rise of private military and security actors and the broader privatization of security. In this area, I study how states, armed organizations, and commercial actors interact in war zones and other unstable environments, and how these relationships reshape authority, accountability, and the conduct of force.

A second major area of my research investigates the adoption and use of emerging technologies in conflict. This includes work on the use of drones by violent nonstate actors, the social and organizational implications of military innovation, and the role of technology in shaping battlefield adaptation. I am particularly interested in how groups that are not states incorporate advanced technologies into asymmetric conflict and how those developments alter both strategy and governance.

Another focus is my work on cognitive warfare and influence operations, including Russian online intervention in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and broader questions concerning information warfare, online mobilization, and contemporary propaganda. More broadly, my scholarship explores how modern security environments blur traditional boundaries between state and nonstate actors, public and private authority, and physical and digital battlefields.

My research has also engaged questions related to military sociology, terrorism, war economies, post-conflict environments, and humanitarian and forensic dimensions of violence. Across these projects, I seek to produce scholarships that are analytically rigorous, empirically grounded, and relevant to ongoing policy debates.

Education

I received my Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. My academic training centers on organizations, political sociology, and security. Over the course of my career, I have developed an interdisciplinary research agenda that connects sociology with security studies, military studies, science and technology, and international affairs.

More Info

Curriculum Vitae

Professional Leadership

In addition to my research and teaching, I serve in a number of professional leadership roles. I am the Editor in Chief of Armed Forces & Society (https://journals.sagepub.com/home/afs) and have served in leadership positions within the American Sociological Association’s section on Peace, War, and Social Conflict. I have also contributed to public and policy conversations on security issues, including the use of drones by violent nonstate actors and the role of private military and security companies in contemporary conflict.

Teaching

At Texas Tech University, I teach courses related to security, conflict, war, military sociology, terrorism, and social theory. My teaching is guided by the view that students should be able to connect classical sociological insights with pressing contemporary security problems. I also mentor graduate and undergraduate students working on research related to conflict, political violence, technology, and national security.

Contact Information

My office is in Holden Hall. Please email me to schedule a meeting regarding research, teaching, graduate supervision, or collaborative projects.

Dr. Ori Swed
Department of Sociology, Anthropology & Social Work
Texas Tech University
Box 41012
2500 Broadway Avenue
Lubbock, TX 79409-1012