The University of Hong Kong 
Dr Paul Joosse
Associate Professor
pjoosse@hku.hk
+852 3917 8533
Biography
Paul Joosse is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Hong Kong.
His most notable contributions to sociology so far have been in the study of charismatic populism. Empirically, this work is informed by long-standing engagements with a range of cases, including environmental social movements, new religious movements (‘cults’), the rise of Donald Trump, and the wartime charisma of Volodymyr Zelensky. Theoretically, he works across the classical/contemporary divide, putting founding sociologist Max Weber into dialogue with several schools of theory that postdate him, but which (as efforts at translation and interpretation show) he anticipated, including the performative turn in cultural sociology, symbolic interactionism, and gender theory. With this comprehensive empirical-theoretical weave, he aspires to emulate the best examples from the tradition of ‘generalist’ sociology—namely, work that is broadly informed and widely relevant, and which works to increase coherence and clarity across the discipline itself.
This work has been published in Social Forces, Sociological Theory, Theory and Society, Journal of Classical Sociology, and Sociology of Religion, among others. In connection with this work, he has served as the Chair of the American Sociological Association’s Section for the History of Sociology asection and he currently serves on the executive board of the International Sociological Association’s Sociological Theory research cluster (RC16).
A second strand of research falls broadly within critical criminology. Specifically, Paul has used a variety of research methods (including ethnographic fieldwork) to explore the fringes of social movements as a site for criminal engagement and criminalization. This has led to analyses of the cultural narratives that give rise to rebellion, the social construction of “ecoterrorism,” and a critical assessment of the origins of the “leaderless resistance/lone wolf” phenomenon. A further project has contributed to understandings of resilience to radicalization within the Somali-Canadian diaspora. This criminological research has been published in British Journal of Criminology, European Journal of Criminology, Crime Media Culture, and Terrorism and Political Violence, among others. In connection with this work, he served as Chair of the Society for the Study of Social Problems’ Theory Division and he is an Associate Fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at King’s College London.
Earlier on in his career, Paul was happy to serve as an editorial assistant at the British Journal of Sociology.
Courses taught
Research interests
Social theory
Criminology
Social movements
Terrorism
Religion
Honours and recognitions
2021 American Sociological Association Junior Theorist Award
2021 American Sociological Association Global and Transnational Sociology Best Scholarly Article Award – Honorable Mention (with Peng Wang and Cho Lok Lee).
2020 Canadian Sociological Association, Early Career Award.
2020 International Sociological Association Junior Theorist Prize.
2019-2020 HKU Faculty of Social Sciences Outstanding Teaching Award
2019 Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Outstanding Article Award, Theory Division.
2019 American Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Section’s Distinguished Article Award – Honorable Mention.
2019-2020 Universitas 21 Fellowship Award (to be taken up at the University of British Columbia).
2018 American Sociological Association Clifford Geertz Prize for Best Article in the Sociology of Culture.
2018 University of Hong Kong Research Output Prize (Faculty of Social Sciences).
2018-2019 King’s College London/University of Hong Kong Fellowship Award.
2014. Faculty of Arts Graduate Student Teaching Award (University of Alberta).
2013. Graduate Student’s Association Teaching Award (University of Alberta).
2012. Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR) Graduate Student Essay Contest, 1st Place: “The Presentation of the Charismatic Self in Everyday Life: Reflections on a Canadian New Religious Movement.”
2009. University of Alberta President’s Media Recognition Award.
2007. Western Society of Criminology, Best Student Paper Award — 1st Place: “Leaderless Resistance and Ideological Inclusion: the Case of the Earth Liberation Front.”
2006. Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR) Graduate Student Essay Contest — 2nd Place: “Silence, Charisma and Power: the Case of John de Ruiter.”
Selected publications
Peer-reviewed publications:
2023 (Forthcoming) “Asymmetric Conflation: QAnon and the Political Cooptation of Religion.” Politics & Religion (with Steven Foersch, Rudra Chakraborty).
2023. “Charismatic Mimicry: Innovation and Imitation in the Case of Volodymyr Zelensky.” Sociological Theory 41(3): 201-228 (with Dominik Zelinsky).
2023. “In the Name of Love or Hatred: A systematic comparison between filicide-suicide and mariticide/uxoricide-suicide in Hong Kong.” European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research (with Wai Kiu Leung). Online first.
2023 (Forthcoming). “Morality from the Mountaintop: A Comparison of Philosophical and Narrative Approaches to increasing the good.” In, Good Stories: Telling Against Trouble. Presser, Lois, Sveinung Sandberg, and Jennifer Fleetwood, eds, NYU Press.
2022. “Berserk!: Anger and the Charismatic Populism of Donald Trump.” Critical Sociology. 48(6): 1073–1087 (with Dominik Zelinsky).
2022. “Transboundary air pollution and cross-border cooperation: Insights from marine vessel emissions regulations in Hong Kong and Shenzhen.” Sustainable Cities and Society. Online first. (with Kim, Seung Kyum, Terry van Gevelt, and Mia M. Bennett).
2021. “Urban Agglomeration Worsens Spatial Disparities in Climate Adaptation.” Scientific Reports 11(8446): 1-11. (with Seung Kyum Kim, Mia M. Bennett, and Terry van Gevelt).
2021. “Narratives of Rebellion.” European Journal of Criminology. 18(5): 735-754.
2021. “Folk Devils: from Youthful Innocence to Conceptual Maturity.” In, Martin Demant Frederiksen and Harboe Knudsen, eds. Modern Folk Devils: The Construction of Evil in the Contemporary World. Helsinki University Press, pp. 263–269.
2020. “Gender and Charismatic Power.”. Theory and Society, 49(4): 533-561 (first author, with Robin D. Willey).
- 2021 American Sociological Association Junior Theorist Award.
2020.”Impacts of Green Infrastructure on Flood Risk Perceptions in Hong Kong.” Climatic Change (with Seung Kyum. Kim, Mia Bennet, and Terry van Gevelt). Online first: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-020-02803-5
2020. “The Evolution of Protest Policing in a Hybrid Regime.” British Journal of Criminology 60(6): 1523-1546 (with Peng Wang and Cho Lok Lee).
- 2021 American Sociological Association Global and Transnational Sociology Best Scholarly Article Award – Honorable Mention.
2020. “Ethnography in Calamitous Times.” Italian Journal of Ethnography and Qualitative Research 2:175-184 (with Cheris Shun-ching Chan, Xiaoli Tian, and Sylvia J. Martin).
Joosse, Paul. 2020. “‘The Long and ‘Hot’ Summer is Coming’: Environmental Community Activism, the State, and the Move Toward Violent Confrontation.” In, Seasonal Sociology, Tonya Davidson and Ondine Park, eds. University of Toronto Press, pp. 311-326.
2018. “Countering Trump: Toward a Theory of Charismatic Counter-Roles.” Social Forces. 97(2): 921-944. doi: 10.1093/sf/soy036
- 2020 International Sociological Association Junior Theorist Prize.
2018. “Expanding Moral Panic Theory to Include the Agency of Charismatic Entrepreneurs.” British Journal of Criminology 58(4): 993-1012. doi.10.1093/bjc/azx047
- 2019 Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) Outstanding Article Award, Theory Division.
- 2018 University of Hong Kong Research Output Prize (Faculty of Social Sciences).
2017. “Max Weber’s Disciples: Theorizing the Charismatic Aristocracy.” Sociological Theory 35(4): 334-358.
- 2018 American Sociological Association Clifford Geertz Prize – Best Article in the Sociology of Culture.
- 2019 American Sociological Association Sociology of Religion Section’s Distinguished Article Award – Honorable Mention.
2017. “Leaderless Resistance and the Loneliness of Lone Wolves: Exploring the Rhetorical Dynamics of Lone-Actor Violence.” Terrorism and Political Violence 29(1): 52-78.
2015. “Narratives and Counternarratives: Somali-Canadians on Recruitment as Foreign Fighters to al-Shabaab.” British Journal of Criminology, 55(4): 811-832 (with Sandra Bucerius and Sara K. Thompson).
2014. “Becoming a God: Max Weber and the Social Construction of Charisma.” Journal of Classical Sociology 14.3: 266-283.
2014. “Anti-globalization and Radical Environmentalism: an exchange on Ethical Grounds.” Ethics in Progress Quarterly 5.1: 33-51.
2012 “Elves, Environmentalism, and ‘Eco-Terror’: Leaderless Resistance and Media Coverage of the Earth Liberation Front.” Crime, Media, Culture, 8.1: 75-93.
2012. “The Presentation of the Charismatic Self in Everyday Life: Reflections on a Canadian New Religious Movement.” Sociology of Religion, 73.2: 174-199.
- 2012. Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR) Graduate Student Essay Contest, 1st Place
2007. “Leaderless Resistance and Ideological Inclusion: the Case of the Earth Liberation Front.” Terrorism and Political Violence, 19.3: 351-368.
- 2007. Western Society of Criminology, Best Student Paper Award, 1st Place
2006. “Silence, Charisma and Power: the Case of John de Ruiter.” Journal of Contemporary Religion, 21.3 (October) 2006: 355-371.
- 2006. Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR) Graduate Student Essay Contest, 2nd Place.
Research reports:
Thompson, Sara K., Sandra Bucerius, Paul Joosse, Kelsi Barkway, Katharina Maier, Kieren Szuchewycz. 2014. Collective Efficacy and Cultural Capital: Building and Fostering Resilience in Different Ethnic Communities. Report for Public Safety Canada.
Joosse, Paul. 2013. Mobilizing Rhetoric in Asymmetrical Warfare: the Origins of ‘Leaderless Resistance.’ Report for Public Safety Canada.
Non-refereed publications:
2010. “Ludwig’s Arrest may have had more to do with Olympics than Evidence.” The Edmonton Journal (January 12) (reprinted in The Vancouver Sun, The Calgary Herald, The BC Province, The Saskatoon StarPhoenix, and The Victoria Times-Colonist).
2009. “Investigation Eroding Confidence.” The Saskatoon Star Phoenix, p. A6, August 12, 2009.
2009. “Tomslake’s Whodunit.” The Calgary Herald, p. A11, August 4, 2009.
2008. “RCMP Blows Pipeline Bomb Investigation.” The Calgary Herald, p. A9, December 15.
2008. “Is it only a ‘crazed’ individual behind pipeline bombings?“ The Vancouver Sun, p. A7, November 24.