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Colin J. Beck is a political sociologist interested in a classic big question of sociology—how and why do societies and institutions change? He primarily examines this question through the lens of revolution, as revolutions are times when alternative social orders are imagined, authored and potentially enacted. In particular, his award-winning work on revolutionary waves draws on global-transnational sociology to understand why multiple revolutions occur simultaneously and how they affect each other.

An interest in revolution almost necessarily leads to its contemporary counterparts—terrorism and social movement radicalism. As one of the few sociological experts on multiple forms of political violence, he has examined cases as diverse as radical environmental activism, political Islam, 18th century Enlightenment revolutions, and the Arab Spring.

Beck is the author of Radicals, Revolutionaries, and Terrorists (2015), a book based on a seminar of the same name that he has taught at Pomona since 2010. He is a member of the International Relations Program in addition to the Department of Sociology, and has held elected positions in the American Sociological Association.