Scott Ruston

Scott Ruston is a Research Professor with Arizona State University’s Global Security Initiative, a university-wide interdisciplinary hub for researching complex challenges in the global security arena. He directs the Center on Narrative, Disinformation & Strategic Influence, leading research teams that combine humanities, social science and computer science in order to better understand manipulations of the information environment and develop technologies to identify malign influence activities. Also a member of ASU’s Center for Strategic Communication, Professor Ruston’s research focuses on the socio-cultural dimensions of the information domain. He has applied his expertise in narrative theory and media studies to a variety of counter violent extremism and counter violent extremist ideology research contexts, including: analysis of extremist narratives; strategies for counter or alternative narratives; and the neurobiology of narrative comprehension.

He is co-author of Narrative Landmines: Rumors, Islamist Extremism and the Struggle for Strategic Influence (Rutgers University Press, 2012), as well as articles on strategic communication, extremist videos and the narrative potential of new media technologies.  He has presented widely on topics intersecting disinformation and propaganda, media, narrative/counter-narrative and terrorism to military, academic and non-governmental organization audiences.  Current research projects focus on analysis of propaganda and information operations in so-called Gray Zone operations, as well as narrative-based interventions influencing attitude, belief and behavior in organizational culture.