Crystal Shelton

Crystal Shelton is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Christopher Newport University (CNU), affiliated with the Honors Program. She teaches international relations, foreign/public policy, terrorism, and research methods. Her PhD and MA in Political Science are from Purdue University (2013 and 2009), alongside a BA from CNU (2005).

• PhD: Political Science, Purdue University (2013)
• MA: Political Science, Purdue University (2009)
• BA: Political Science, Christopher Newport University (2005)

Her research investigates how domestic/international institutions influence state vulnerability to terrorism, focusing on NATO, democratization, and media roles in terrorist targeting. She previously supervised the Global Terrorism Database’s weapons/tactics domain at the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START) at the University of Maryland. She has taught at Purdue and George Washington University.

Her work examines transnational terrorism dynamics, including media’s role in incentivizing terrorism and IGO membership impacts on state vulnerability. Findings highlight intersections between institutional frameworks and terrorism risk.

Grants/awards: None explicitly listed. Advising: No students listed. Prior roles include START supervision and teaching at multiple institutions.

Labs/teams: Affiliated with START, contributing to terrorism database research.