Alexander Thurston

593 total citations
24 papers, 216 citations indexed

About

Alexander Thurston is a scholar working on Sociology and Political Science, Political Science and International Relations and General Social Sciences. According to data from OpenAlex, Alexander Thurston has authored 24 papers receiving a total of 216 indexed citations (citations by other indexed papers that have themselves been cited), including 16 papers in Sociology and Political Science, 12 papers in Political Science and International Relations and 7 papers in General Social Sciences. Recurrent topics in Alexander Thurston's work include Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence (10 papers), Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria (7 papers) and Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East (5 papers). Alexander Thurston is often cited by papers focused on Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence (10 papers), Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria (7 papers) and Politics and Conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Middle East (5 papers). Alexander Thurston collaborates with scholars based in United States. Alexander Thurston's co-authors include Olivier Walther and Steven M. Radil and has published in prestigious journals such as Third World Quarterly, African Affairs and African Studies Review.

In The Last Decade

Alexander Thurston

21 papers receiving 191 citations

Peers — A (Enhanced Table)

Peers by citation overlap · career bar shows stage (early→late) cites · hero ref

Name h Career Trend Papers Cites
Alexander Thurston United States 8 183 82 38 22 18 24 216
Emanuela Dalmasso Netherlands 7 182 1.0× 131 1.6× 21 0.6× 6 0.3× 7 0.4× 14 236
Olivia Rutazibwa United Kingdom 8 146 0.8× 74 0.9× 13 0.3× 11 0.5× 5 0.3× 15 207
Johannes Harnischfeger Germany 5 159 0.9× 55 0.7× 28 0.7× 9 0.4× 14 0.8× 12 194
Brandon Kendhammer United States 9 124 0.7× 66 0.8× 17 0.4× 7 0.3× 6 0.3× 14 163
Jacob Zenn United States 8 181 1.0× 58 0.7× 18 0.5× 7 0.3× 12 0.7× 20 196
Mounia Bennani-Chraïbi Switzerland 10 174 1.0× 145 1.8× 38 1.0× 5 0.2× 2 0.1× 30 246
Kristian Kriegbaum Jensen Denmark 7 152 0.8× 87 1.1× 5 0.1× 40 1.8× 3 0.2× 17 178
Dipali Mukhopadhyay United States 6 168 0.9× 87 1.1× 7 0.2× 3 0.1× 7 0.4× 9 195
Bina D’Costa Australia 8 124 0.7× 61 0.7× 11 0.3× 5 0.2× 2 0.1× 23 170
Funmi Olonisakin United Kingdom 11 199 1.1× 141 1.7× 11 0.3× 3 0.1× 4 0.2× 52 258

Countries citing papers authored by Alexander Thurston

Since Specialization
Citations

This map shows the geographic impact of Alexander Thurston's research. It shows the number of citations coming from papers published by authors working in each country. You can also color the map by specialization and compare the number of citations received by Alexander Thurston with the expected number of citations based on a country's size and research output (numbers larger than one mean the country cites Alexander Thurston more than expected).

Fields of papers citing papers by Alexander Thurston

Since Specialization
Physical SciencesHealth SciencesLife SciencesSocial Sciences

This network shows the impact of papers produced by Alexander Thurston. Nodes represent research fields, and links connect fields that are likely to share authors. Colored nodes show fields that tend to cite the papers produced by Alexander Thurston. The network helps show where Alexander Thurston may publish in the future.

Co-authorship network of co-authors of Alexander Thurston

This figure shows the co-authorship network connecting the top 25 collaborators of Alexander Thurston. A scholar is included among the top collaborators of Alexander Thurston based on the total number of citations received by their joint publications. Widths of edges represent the number of papers authors have co-authored together. Node borders signify the number of papers an author published with Alexander Thurston. Alexander Thurston is excluded from the visualization to improve readability, since they are connected to all nodes in the network.

All Works

20 of 20 papers shown
1.
Walther, Olivier, Steven M. Radil, & Alexander Thurston. (2025). Political violence and transport infrastructure in West Africa. African Security Review. 34(4). 352–373. 1 indexed citations
2.
Thurston, Alexander. (2020). Sectarian Triangles: Salafis, the Shi‘a, and the Politics of Religious Affiliations in Northern Nigeria. Politics and Religion. 14(3). 484–511.
3.
Thurston, Alexander. (2020). Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel. Cambridge University Press eBooks. 40 indexed citations
4.
Thurston, Alexander. (2020). Jihadists of North Africa and the Sahel : Local Politics and Rebel Groups. 2 indexed citations
5.
6.
Thurston, Alexander. (2018). The Politics of Technocracy in Fourth Republic Nigeria. African Studies Review. 61(1). 215–238. 9 indexed citations
7.
Thurston, Alexander. (2018). Boko Haram. Princeton University Press eBooks. 33 indexed citations
8.
Thurston, Alexander, et al.. (2017). Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP): An Al Qaeda Affiliate Case Study. 2 indexed citations
9.
Thurston, Alexander. (2017). Boko Haram. Princeton University Press eBooks. 29 indexed citations
10.
Thurston, Alexander. (2017). Coded Language Among Muslim Activists: Salafīs and the Prophet’s Sermon of Necessity. Die Welt des Islams. 57(2). 192–222. 1 indexed citations
11.
Thurston, Alexander. (2017). Algeria’s GIA: The First Major Armed Group to Fully Subordinate Jihadism to Salafism. Islamic Law and Society. 24(4). 412–436. 5 indexed citations
12.
Thurston, Alexander. (2017). Polyvalent, Transnational Religious Authority: The Tijaniyya Sufi Order and Al-Azhar University. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 86(3). 789–820. 3 indexed citations
13.
Thurston, Alexander. (2017). Boko Haram: The History of an African Jihadist Movement. Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University). 30 indexed citations
14.
Thurston, Alexander. (2016). Salafism in Nigeria. Cambridge University Press eBooks. 23 indexed citations
15.
Thurston, Alexander. (2016). Salafism in Nigeria : Islam, Preaching, and Politics. 13 indexed citations
16.
Thurston, Alexander. (2016). Islamic Modernism and Colonial Education in Northern Nigeria: Na’ibi Sulaiman Wali (1927–2013). Religion & Education. 44(1). 101–117. 2 indexed citations
17.
Thurston, Alexander. (2015). The Salafi Ideal of Electronic Media as an Intellectual Meritocracy in Kano, Nigeria. Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 83(4). 1058–1083. 1 indexed citations
18.
Thurston, Alexander. (2014). The Era of Overseas Scholarships: Islam, Modernization, and Decolonization in Northern Nigeria, c. 1954-1966. Journal of Religion in Africa. 44(1). 62–91. 1 indexed citations
19.
Thurston, Alexander. (2014). Muslim politics and shari'a in Kano State, Northern Nigeria. African Affairs. 114(454). 28–51. 12 indexed citations
20.
Thurston, Alexander. (2013). Mauritania’s Islamists. 145–163. 2 indexed citations

Rankless uses publication and citation data sourced from OpenAlex, an open and comprehensive bibliographic database. While OpenAlex provides broad and valuable coverage of the global research landscape, it—like all bibliographic datasets—has inherent limitations. These include incomplete records, variations in author disambiguation, differences in journal indexing, and delays in data updates. As a result, some metrics and network relationships displayed in Rankless may not fully capture the entirety of a scholar's output or impact.

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