Mark McGovern is Professor in Sociology in the Department of History, Geography and Social Sciences. His research is primarily concerned with the study of political violence, conflict and post-conflict transition, particularly in Northern Ireland. He has been involved for many years in research with community groups and local and international NGOs dealing with post-conflict human rights, truth and justice issues. He has undertaken research investigating the nature and extent of British state collusion with loyalists during the conflict in the North of Ireland. His current research examines the experiences of victims' relatives of post-conflict legacy mechanisms. He is the author of Counterinsurgency and Collusion in Northern Ireland (London: Pluto Press, 2019), Ardoyne: The Untold Truth (Beyond the Pale: 2002) and has published in a wide range of journals including Sociology, Law and Society, Critical Studies on Terrorism, Race and Class, Terrorism and Political Violence, Children and Society and State Crime.