Studying the impact of state and non-state actors on global challenges
Multidisciplinary Research Projects and Programs


The Center for Qualitative and Multi-Method Inquiry (CQMI)
With a focus on research methods and data, CQMI's goals include enhancing faculty and student awareness of, and facilitating their access to, methodological expertise on campus.
CQMI hosts a remote lab to enhance faculty and student access to CAQDAS and provides access to research methods syllabi to help students with their course selection. Visit CQMI's Answers page for more information about the remote lab and the syllabi.
Mapping Global Insecurity
Dominated by alternative authority structures—criminals, warlords, terrorist organizations—Black Spots are capable of breeding and exporting insecurity to faraway locations, constituting a considerable security challenge as they are largely invisible to the outside world.
This research initiative seeks to develop an early warning system for alerting governments and international organizations of possible dangers, and to provide guidance on how Black Spots may be managed to minimize the harm they cause.


Sovereignty, Order and Conflict
Although the primary actors in world politics, sovereign states do not always possess sovereign reach across their territories. Zones of conflict, informal control and uncertain rule exist both within states and across borders. Terrorist networks, rebel insurgencies and crime syndicates are all examples of forms of order that begin where sovereign control ends.
This project hosts a multidisciplinary seminar series where a working group of faculty and doctoral students from across Syracuse University will meet to explore the latest research on these themes that cut across the social sciences, taking a multi-method approach to addressing these challenges.