The Von Hügel Institute is delighted to congratulate Professor Zeina Barakat, currently a Visiting Scholar of St Edmund’s College, on her appointment as Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University, effective June 2026.
Professor Barakat is a Palestinian academic from Jerusalem whose research has earned international recognition in the fields of reconciliation studies, applied ethics, peacebuilding, transitional justice, and interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Her work explores questions of justice, reconciliation, human dignity, and peaceful coexistence in societies shaped by conflict, religious diversity, and cultural plurality.
She completed her undergraduate studies at Bethlehem University before receiving a Master’s degree in American Studies from Al-Quds University. She subsequently pursued doctoral studies at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, where she was awarded a PhD in Reconciliation and Applied Ethics, becoming one of the first Arab women to specialise academically in this interdisciplinary field at the University.
Professor Barakat joined the Von Hügel Institute as a Research Associate in 2019, contributing to its international research community through her work on reconciliation, ethics, religion, and peacebuilding. Her scholarship reflects the VHI’s commitment to advancing interdisciplinary research on the relationship between faith, justice, ethics, and the common good.
Zeina Barakat also teaches at Europa-Universität Flensburg, where she serves as Executive Director of the European Wasatia Graduate School for Peace and Conflict Resolution. In this role, she leads the strategic development and implementation of the international doctoral programme, promotes international academic partnerships, and mentors emerging scholars working in the fields of reconciliation, conflict transformation, peacebuilding, and intercultural understanding.
Her appointment as Extraordinary Professor at Stellenbosch University recognises her sustained contributions to international scholarship in reconciliation studies, transitional justice, and interreligious engagement. She has authored and edited numerous scholarly books, journal articles, and book chapters, making significant contributions to contemporary debates on reconciliation, peacebuilding, ethics, and intercultural dialogue.
Professor Barakat’s work has also received international recognition. In 2025, she and Professor Ralf K. Wüstenberg were jointly awarded the German Dialogue Award in the Education and Science category by the Federation of German Dialogue Institutions. The award recognises their outstanding commitment to fostering open, respectful, and sustainable dialogue between religions through research, education, and public engagement. Their collaboration through the European Wasatia Graduate School has made a significant contribution to advancing interreligious dialogue, reconciliation, and peacebuilding in both academic and international contexts.
