Dr Rebecca Brubaker
Lecturer in Security and Conflict in Policy and Practice
Biography
Dr Rebecca Brubaker joined the School of International Relations in 2025, after fifteen years of service in the international policy sphere.
She was the Director of Policy, Learning and Advisory Services at Interpeace (Geneva), one of the oldest, dedicated international peacebuilding organizations. In addition, she worked as a Senior Policy Advisor for the United Nations (UN), leading portfolios relating to conflict prevention, transitional justice, humanitarian affairs, and sanctions. Prior to joining the UN, Brubaker supported Track II dialogue initiatives spearheaded by local civil society groups in Cyprus, Turkey and the Balkans.
Dr. Brubaker has also worked as a scholar/ lecturer at the University of Oxford, Yale University, University of Virginia, the Free University of Brussels (ULB), and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (Geneva). She holds a DPhil and MSc from the University of Oxford, where she studied as a Rhodes scholar.
Research areas
Dr Brubaker’s research expertise includes:
- Ethnicity and nationalism
- Refugees and forced displacement
- Ethics and norms around “do gooder” interventions
- Conflict prevention and resolution.
- United Nations (peace and security architecture)
- Transitional Justice
Brubaker’s most recent book, Reversing Ethnic Cleansing through Minority Returns (OUP, 2025), is available here.
Selected publications
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Reversing ethnic cleansing through minority returns: an intellectual history of a novel idea
Brubaker, R. A., 6 Feb 2025, Oxford: Oxford University Press. 256 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book
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Open access
Disinformation and peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa: security implications of AI-altered information environments
Albrecht, E., Fournier-Tombs, E. & Brubaker, R., 9 Feb 2024, New York: United Nations University and Interpeace. 40 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Towards common ground: strategies for effective collaboration between the humanitarian and peacebuilding communities
Brubaker, R., Bennett , W. & Erikson, H. A., Dec 2024, In: International Review of the Red Cross. 106, 927, p. 1088-1107 20 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Artificial Intelligence-Powered Disinformation and Conflict
Fournier-Tombs, E., Brubaker, R. A. & Albrecht, E., 7 Sept 2023, New York: United Nations University Press. 5 p.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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From counting the unseen to making them count
Brubaker, R. A. & Sy, E. A., 1 Sept 2023, à propos, 182.Research output: Contribution to specialist publication › Article
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Open access
Conflict-related UN sanctions regimes and humanitarian action: A policy research overview
Brubaker, R. A. & Huvé, S., Feb 2022, In: International Review of the Red Cross. 103, 916-917, p. 385-402Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Enforcing UN Sanctions and Protecting Humanitarian Action: Towards a Coherent and Consistent Approach
Brubaker, R. A., Huvé, S. & Day, A., 2022, United Nations University Press.Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Exploring the relationships between UN sanctions and mediation
Biersteker , T., Brubaker, R. A. & Lanz, D., 4 Jul 2022, In: Global Governance. 28, 2, p. 180-202Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Humanitarian Exemptions in UN Sanctions Regimes
Brubaker, R. A. & Huvé, S., 31 Mar 2022, United Nations University Press. 12 p. (UN Sanctions and Humanitarian Action Policy Memo Series )Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report
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Open access
Impartial Humanitarian Organizations
Huvé, S. & Brubaker, R. A., 31 Mar 2022, New York: United Nations University Press. 9 p. (UN Sanctions and Humanitarian Action Policy Memo Series )Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report