Helping organizations solve difficult problems where conflict, security, and emerging technology intersect
Research-driven advisory services supporting governments, research institutions, AI organizations, and policy teams through interdisciplinary analysis, strategic insight, and evidence-based recommendations.
Most difficult problems are difficult because they are poorly defined, examined through a single lens, or evaluated against the wrong evidence. Correcting that — before an organization commits resources to the wrong solution — is where the real value lies.
Research & Advisory Experience
Ph.D. & M.A. in sociocultural anthropology, with undergraduate degrees in psychology and public administration, including a minor in emergency management and homeland security. Research at the University of Geneva on a Swiss National Science Foundation counterterrorism project; Fulbright-supported fieldwork in post-conflict Croatia; visiting research at Cornell Law School; engagement with United Nations and ICRC stakeholders. Current work includes the evaluation and red-teaming of large language models across extremism, violence, self-harm and suicide, substance-related harms, illicit activity, and other high-risk sociopolitical domains. This work involves identifying recurring failure modes, assessing safeguards and enforcement behavior, and contributing to model, policy, and evaluation refinements.
Have a problem worth defining correctly?
Get in touch to discuss a research, advisory, or evaluation need.
Complex problems often persist because they are framed too narrowly, examined through a single disciplinary lens, or evaluated using evidence that does not address the decision at hand. My approach integrates behavioral and social science, security studies, international law, policy analysis, and institutional analysis to define the problem more precisely, identify the mechanisms driving it, distinguish between competing explanations, and translate evidence into defensible, practical recommendations.
{{ sd1.title }}
{{ sd1.summary }}
{{ sd2.title }}
{{ sd2.summary }}
{{ sd3.title }}
{{ sd3.summary }}
{{ sd4.title }}
{{ sd4.summary }}
Have a problem worth defining correctly?
Get in touch to discuss a research, advisory, or evaluation need.
Four thematic areas span my academic and applied work, from radicalization research to AI model evaluation.
Have a problem worth defining correctly?
Get in touch to discuss a research, advisory, or evaluation need.
An interdisciplinary researcher and consultant
My work is problem-focused rather than discipline-led. I am an interdisciplinary behavioral and social scientist working across conflict and security, international law, and emerging technology. My academic foundation spans psychology, sociocultural anthropology, public administration, and emergency management and homeland security. This foundation brings together behavioral, evolutionary, institutional, and policy perspectives to analyze complex problems and develop practical responses.
During my Ph.D., I conducted Fulbright-supported fieldwork in post-conflict Croatia. This was followed by a postdoctoral research position at the University of Geneva on a major Swiss National Science Foundation counterterrorism project, where I coordinated interdisciplinary international research and engaged with United Nations and ICRC stakeholders on counterterrorism, human rights, humanitarian law, and armed conflict. A visiting research appointment at Cornell Law School followed.
Current applied work focuses on evaluating and red-teaming large language models across extremism, violence, self-harm and suicide, substance-related harms, illicit activity, and broader sociopolitical-risk domains. This work includes developing prompts and test cases, scoring and classifying responses, identifying bias, failure modes, and safeguards gaps, and translating findings into recommendations for model, policy, and evaluation refinement. A related research focus examines how generative AI may affect radicalization, extremist communication, political violence, and institutional responses.
Methodological expertise includes experiments, advanced quantitative analysis, ethnography, interviews, surveys, psychometrics, social-network analysis, game theory, and legal-empirical research. Publications span terrorism studies, psychology, anthropology, behavioral science, international humanitarian law, and security policy. Teaching experience includes the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the University of Arizona, and Boston University Geneva.
Long before entering academia, my interest in behavior took shape through science education, public service, and close work with animals. Beginning at thirteen, I volunteered with the Orlando Science Center and Ronald McDonald House Charities, eventually completing thousands of hours of community service. Later roles in wildlife conservation education and animal care involved species ranging from alligators, snakes, and birds of prey to sharks and dolphins. Work with Walt Disney World Animal Programs included leading animal- and conservation-focused tours and spending seven years as a safety diver at one of the world’s largest aquariums. Together, these experiences fostered an enduring curiosity about risk, conflict, cooperation, and adaptation across human and animal life. Beyond professional work, longstanding interests include travel, nature, science, and theatre.
Radicalization, Terrorism, and International Humanitarian Law
Have a problem worth defining correctly?
Get in touch to discuss a research, advisory, or evaluation need.
Impressum
Angaben gemäß § 5 TMG (Information pursuant to Section 5 of the German Telemedia Act)
Michael Moncrieff, Ph.D.
Virtual mailbox – Berlin, Germany (address update in progress)
Contact
Email: Send an email
Responsible for content pursuant to § 18 Abs. 2 MStV
Michael Moncrieff (address as above)
Dispute resolution
The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (OS), available at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. I am not obliged to, and do not, participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.
Privacy Notice
1. Controller
Michael Moncrieff, Virtual mailbox – Berlin, Germany (address update in progress), contact via email, is the controller responsible for data processing on this website within the meaning of the GDPR.
2. Hosting and server log data
This website is hosted by Netlify, Inc. Each time this website is accessed, the hosting provider's servers automatically record technical information (e.g. IP address, browser type, date and time of access) in server log files. This processing is based on legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) in the stable and secure operation of the site.
3. Fonts
Web fonts used on this site are hosted locally rather than retrieved from external servers. No connection to Google or any other third-party font provider is made when you visit this site, and no personal data is transmitted for this purpose.
4. Contact by email
If you contact me by email, the information you provide (e.g. name, email address, message content) is processed solely to handle your inquiry, based on Art. 6(1)(b) GDPR or Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR (legitimate interest in responding to inquiries). This data is not passed to third parties and is deleted once it is no longer needed, unless a statutory retention obligation applies.
5. Cookies and analytics
This website uses Google Analytics (Google Ireland Limited), which sets cookies and processes your IP address and browsing behavior on this site to generate anonymized usage statistics. This only happens if you give consent via the banner shown on your first visit, based on Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR and § 25 TTDSG. Data may be transferred to Google servers in the United States. You can withdraw consent at any time by clearing your browser's site data and revisiting, which will show the banner again. Google's own privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
6. External links
This website links to third-party platforms, including LinkedIn, X, Bluesky, Google Scholar, and ORCID. These platforms are operated independently; once you follow a link, that platform's own privacy policy applies, and I have no influence over its data processing.
7. Your rights
Under the GDPR you have the right to access, rectify, or erase your personal data, and to restrict or object to its processing, as well as a right to data portability. You may lodge a complaint with the data protection supervisory authority competent for your place of residence, or the authority competent for my place of establishment once registered in Germany.
8. Changes to this notice
This privacy notice may be updated to reflect changes to the website or to legal requirements. Last updated: July 2026.
This site uses Google Analytics to understand site traffic. See the Privacy Notice for details.