Sultan Barakat is a Professor of Public Policy at Qatar Foundation’s Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) and an Honorary Professor at the University of York. He is a world-renowned scholar, known for pioneering the study of war-torn societies and their recovery. Professor Barakat founded the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, which he directed between 2016 and 2022. Previously, he served as the Director of Research at the Brookings Institution’s Doha Center. At the University of York, he founded and led the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit between 1993 and 2019.

Professor Barakat has been published widely in academic journals. His book After the Conflict: Reconstruction and Development in the Aftermath of War, published by IB Tauris, was reprinted twice, in 2005 and 2010. He has also written books on the reconstruction of both Afghanistan and Iraq. His most recent book, Understanding Influence: The Use of Statebuilding Research in British Policy was published by Ashgate in 2014. Professor Barakat has over 30 years of professional experience working on issues of conflict resolution, humanitarian response, statebuilding and post-conflict recovery and transition. He is regularly engaged in providing guidance as a senior adviser and consultant to the United Nations, World Bank, European Union, Red Cross and a variety of governments. He has led major evaluations, peace negotiations and programming initiatives in Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Libya, Nepal, Palestine, Philippines (Mindanao), Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan (Darfur), Syria, Uganda (Moyo and Adjumani), and Yemen.