Meriem Rebbani, PhD

About

I am an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at John Jay College, CUNY, and an affiliated researcher at Leiden University’s Van Vollenhoven Institute. My research examines everyday security: how security institutions and their practitioners interpret and manage risk through micro-practices, professional judgment, and institutional relationships.

Drawing on fieldwork across North America, Europe, and the Middle East, I study how security policies are translated, negotiated, and enacted in practice. My work focuses particularly on policing, counterterrorism, counter-extremism, and risk governance.

I am the author of Counter-Extremism and High Policing in Canada: Improvising Security (Routledge, 2026), an ethnography of Canada’s counter-extremism apparatus and the changing boundaries of high policing.

Practice and policy experience

Erbil, Iraq – Training prison and security officials on counter-extremism and counter-radicalisation in a prison context.

Alongside my academic work, I bring more than a decade of experience in security and governance. I have served as a field officer and consultant with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT), CIVIPOL, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). I have also advised international organizations, including the Global Partnership for Education and the International Development Law Organization (IDLO)

My projects have ranged from risk assessment and prison reform to curriculum development and counterterrorism policy advising across the Middle East, North Africa, Europe, and North America.

Dr. Meriem Rebbani engaged in a discussion at a United Nations event, seated with a colleague in a professional setting, with UN flags and informational materials visible.
Tunis, Tunisia – Discussing prisoners’ rights at a United Nations event.

Recognition

I received the Emerging Thought Leader Award from Women in International Security Canada (WIIS-Canada) in recognition of my work connecting academic research with policy and practice.

Teaching and mentorship

My teaching draws on this field experience, bringing theory into conversation with practice across courses in global security, law and society, terrorism and counterterrorism, and sociolegal studies. I am committed to inclusive mentorship and have worked extensively with students from underrepresented backgrounds in higher education and the security professions.

Dushanbe, Tajikistan – training on the rehabilitation of women and children from conflict zones.

Current Roles & Affiliations

  • Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
  • Affiliated Researcher, Van Vollenhoven Institute, Leiden University
  • Consultant & Advisor to international organizations, law enforcement, and educational institutions

Areas of Expertise

  • Everyday security and institutional practice
  • Risk assessment, risk management, and risk governance
  • Policing, counterterrorism, and counter-extremism
  • Security-sector reform and multi-agency cooperation
  • Qualitative methods, ethnography, and research in security contexts