Dr
Amna
Kaleem
(she/her)

School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations

Leverhulme Early Career Fellow

Dr Amna Kaleem
Profile picture of Dr Amna Kaleem
amna.kaleem@sheffield.ac.uk
A10, Elmfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Amna Kaleem
School of Sociological Studies, Politics and International Relations

A10
Elmfield Building
Northumberland Road

Sheffield

S10 2TU

Profile

I am a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow in the school. My research is situated within Critical Security/Terrorism Studies and takes a feminist epistemological approach to study the everyday impacts of security policies at the grassroots level. Through my postdoctoral project entitled 'Counter-terrorism work in/by the community: impact and challenges', I am investigating the impact of community-led counter-terrorism measures on the work of charities and third-sector organisations and their relationships with the local communities they serve.

My PhD research critically analysed the British government’s Prevent Duty that puts a legal obligation on public sector workers to conduct counter-terrorism monitoring. Through published outputs, I have put forward an understanding of Prevent Duty as a hegemonic regime that is normalising surveillance work and creating a securitised ecosystem where ordinary citizens are expected to undertake counter-terrorism responsibilities. I am also one of the co-convenors of BISA's Critical Terrorism Studies working group.

Qualifications
  • PhD, Critical Terrorism Studies, University of Sheffield
  • MA, Social Research, University of Sheffield
  • MA, Global Security, University of Sheffield
  • MA, International Relations, University of Karachi
  • BA (Hons), International Relations, University of Karachi
Research interests

As part of my Leverhulme project, I aim to conduct an ethnographic study of charities and community-based organisations that have received funding from the UK Home Office to conduct counter-terrorism work. By focussing on the experiences of community-based actors and organisations, this project will move away from a state-centric analysis of security policies and put forward an alternative understanding of community-led counter-terrorism initiatives. Over the next three years, I will be exploring the following questions: 

  • How has the British state created a parallel security infrastructure by turning community organisations into counter-terrorism outposts?
  • What are the factors and narratives that explain the involvement of community organisations in counter-terrorism work?
  • What is the impact of this co-optation of community organisations on their work within their local communities?               
Publications

Journal articles

  • Kaleem A (2025) . International Political Sociology, 19(3).
  • Martini A & Kaleem A (2024) . Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 37(6), 723-728.
  • Aitlhadj L, Finden A, Haspeslagh S, Kaleem A, Khan RM, Salhab A, Schotten CH, Sen S & Stampnitzky L (2024) . Critical Studies on Terrorism, 17(3), 437-462.
  • Kaleem A (2022) . Critical Studies on Terrorism, 15(2), 267-289.
  • Winter C, Heath-Kelly C, Kaleem A & Mills C (2022) . Critical Social Policy, 42(1), 85-106.

Book chapters

  • Kaleem A (2025) The individual and the intimate in counterterrorism: The case of the British government's Prevent strategy, Global Counter Terrorism A Decolonial Approach (pp. 184-204).
  • Kaleem A (2022) , Problematising Intelligence Studies (pp. 73-95). Routledge
Research group

International Relations

Grants
  • Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, 2023-2026
  • EISA Postdoctoral Bridge Grant, 2023
  • Economic and Social Research Council, White Rose Doctoral Scholarship, 2017 – 2021
Teaching activities

Graduate Teaching Assistant

  • Contemporary Security Challenges
  • Introduction to International Relations
  • Introduction to Comparative Politics
  • Contemporary International Relations Theory
  • Principles of Research Design

Guest Lecturer

  • “Terrorism: A Conceptual Introduction”, Level 2 Module, Contemporary Security Challenges,  University of Sheffield.
  • “The Prevent Strategy: ‘Safeguarding Duty’ or ‘Security Controversy’?”, Level 3 Module, Critical Security Studies, Department of War Studies, King’s College London..
  • “From ‘battle of ideas’ to ‘British values’: An overview of the Prevent Strategy”, Level 3 Module, Responding to Violent Extremism, School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham..
  • “Introduction to the Radicalisation Discourse”, MA Module, Terrorism and Political Violence, University of Sheffield.             
Professional activities and memberships
  • Co-convenor, BISA Critical Terrorism Studies Working Group
  • Co-convenor, International Relations Research Group 

Links