Dr Erna Burai

Designation: Senior Lecturer (CAS Accountability)

Erna joined the Centre in August 2022. She holds a PhD from Central European University (CEU) in Political Science and International Relations, which she earned with a dissertation titled Responsibilities to Protect: accountability and responsiveness in protecting populations from atrocity crimes. As a theorist, she focuses on norms and norm contestation, responsibility in global governance and academic practices, pedagogy and academic writing.

Erna has more than a decade of experience in higher education and research. Before joining the Centre, she worked at the Geneva Graduate Institute on regional security architectures (2018-2022) and at Central European University on global norm evolution and the Responsibility to Protect (2012-2015). She held visiting research fellowships at the European University Institute and The Montreal Centre for International Studies. She led the International Relations program of a Hungarian higher education institution between 2011 and 2015.

She is committed to education and career development and currently serves as a member of the Early Career Development Group of the European International Studies Association (EISA). In addition to her native Hungarian, Erna is fluent in English and French and speaks Spanish.

Fields of interest

  • Governance
  • International Relations
  • Norm contestation in international politics
  • Responsibility and accountability in global governance
  • Humanitarian action
  • International organisations
  • Academic practices
  • Academic writing, critical pedagogy