Associate Professor Charles T. Hunt is a Senior Fellow (Non-Resident) at United Nations University Centre for Policy Research.
Dr Hunt is also an Associate Professor of International Security in the School of Global, Urban & Social Studies at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, and an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect at the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. Dr Hunt is currently an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow (2017-2021).
Dr Hunt’s background is in political science with a specialization in international relations and critical security studies. He holds a Doctorate in International Relations from the University of Queensland, Australia, as well as Master’s degree in International Studies and a Bachelor of Science (Joint Honours) in Economics and Political Science – both from the University of Birmingham. During his tenure at the University of Queensland, Dr Hunt was Senior Researcher in the Institute for Social Science Research (2008-2012), Leader for the protection of civilians program at the APR2P (2009 to 2015), Lecturer in International Security in the School of Political Science and International Studies (2012-2015) and has been an Associate Investigator with the Australian Research Council’s Centre for Excellence in Policing and Security since 2009.
His research in the field of international relations, peace and conflict studies focuses on four main areas:
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The changing nature of United Nations peace operations
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Peacebuilding and governance in conflict-affected countries and regions
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Evaluation, impact assessment and organizational learning in conflict management, peacebuilding and development programming
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The protection of civilians in armed conflict, the ‘Responsibility to Protect’ (R2P) and prevention of mass atrocity crimes
Dr Hunt is widely published, having authored/edited six books and over thirty peer-reviewed articles and chapters. He is one of three Editors-in-Chief of the quarterly journal, Global Responsibility to Protect, and a member of the editorial board for the Journal of International Peacekeeping. In addition to traditional academic publications, Dr Hunt regularly writes editorials and commentaries for widely-read outlets, including the Washington Post, The Conversation, Global Observatory (International Peace Institute, New York), The Interpreter (Lowy Institute, Sydney), and Australian Outlook (Australian Institute for International Affairs, Canberra).
Dr Hunt has worked with the Australian government over a number of years assessing their role in peace operations and as a Principal Advisor to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Fragility and Conflict Panel. He has worked extensively in Africa conducting field research in a number of locations (e.g. South Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe) and performed consultancy roles with the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and a number of international humanitarian NGOs. Dr Hunt’s previous work for international organizations, think tanks, civil society organizations, NGOs and academic institutions in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, has provided him with a global perspective on issues of peace, security and justice.
Research Interests
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Conflict Prevention
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Conflict resolution
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Peace and security
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Peacebuilding
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Peacekeeping