People

Dr Charles T. Hunt is Professor of Global Studies in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies and Director of the RMIT Pacific Initiative. He has a background in political science with specialisation in international relations, peace and conflict, and critical security studies. Based in the Social Equity Research Centre, his research focuses on global governance and collective responses to conflict and instability. Charles has specific expertise in peace operations, security and justice in conflict-affected societies, monitoring and evaluation of peacebuilding programming, the protection of civilians and human rights in armed conflict, and the prevention of mass atrocity crimes.  Professor Hunt is also Senior Fellow (non-resident) at the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research in New York/Geneva and an Honorary Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (University of Queensland) where he was the leader for the protection of civilians program from 2009 to 2015. He was Editor-in-Chief of the quarterly journal, Global Responsibility to Protect (2020-2025) and a member of the editorial boards for International Peacekeeping and the Journal of International Peacekeeping. Charles bridges academic rigor and practical engagement to improve policy on peace and security issues. He has extensive knowledge and experience of the UN policy community and regularly consults to the United Nations and selected member states and has been commissioned to write numerous policy papers, practical handbooks and guidance on issues of peace and security.   Professor Hunt has almost two decades of experience working with local, national and regional partners in the Pacific, including work on access to security and justice in the Solomon Islands and hybrid political orders in Vanuatu and Bougainville. Professor Hunt has also worked with the Australian government over a number of years assessing their role in peace operations and as a Principal Advisor to DFAT’s Fragility and Conflict Panel.   He has also worked extensively in Africa - including as Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Security Studies in Addis Ababa - conducting field research in many locations (e.g. South Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mali, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe). He has performed consultancy roles with the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and several international NGOs.  Charles’ previous and on-going work for international organisations, government agencies, think tanks, civil society organisations, and academic institutions across the Pacific, Africa, Europe, and Asia has provided him with a global perspective on issues of peace, security and justice. Professor Hunt has won a number of prestigious awards including an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellowship (2017-2021), Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellowship (2015-2017), the RMIT Award for Research Excellence Early Career Researcher (2017), RMIT Vice Chancellor's Award for Research Impact (2020), and was listed by The Australian Research Magazine in Australia’s top 250 researchers (as leader in the field of ‘defence studies’) three years running (2021-2023). In addition to traditional academic publications, Charles regularly writes editorials and commentaries for widely-read outlets, including the Washington Post, The Conversation, Global Observatory (International Peace Institute, New York), The DIplomat, Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Canberra Times, The Interpreter (Lowy Institute, Sydney), and Australian Outlook (Australian Institute for International Affairs, Canberra). His analysis and expertise have also featured on international and national television and radio stations including appearances on flagship programs on the BBC, Al-Jazeera, ABC, and SBS.

Dr Pia Treichel is a Vice-Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies and the RMIT Pacific Initiative. Pia is a practitioner-turned-researcher, whose research builds off her experiences working on climate change with international organisations including ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, the International Institute for Environment and Development, Oxfam in the Pacific, Save the Children, Plan International, and the United Nations Development Programme.    Pia's research focuses on flows of international funding for adaptation action in climate vulnerable countries and communities, and the associated implications for climate justice. She aims to generate evidence on mechanisms - particularly finance - to support climate vulnerable countries and communities, and the circumstances under which they are effective in building resilience. Pia's work also explores the nature of local level adaptation and resilience, as well as on the links between climate and nature focused action, both at the local level and in terms of the international systems and processes (and finance) designed to support such action.