Sultan Barakat is a Professor at the Department of Politics, University of York, UK.  He is the founding Director of the Post-war Reconstruction and Development Unit (PRDU), which was established at the University of York in 1993. Under his directorship, the PRDU has become an international centre of excellence for the study of war-torn societies and their recovery. 

Professor Barakat has published internationally in the areas of: conflict analysis and management; third-party intervention; humanitarian assistance; institutional development; peace-building strategies; and social and economic rebuilding of war-torn societies.  He is also a Fellow of the London-based Institute for Civil Defence and Disaster Studies (ICDDS) and a Senior Advisor to the Regional Human Security Centre, based in Amman. 

Alongside graduate teaching and research, Professor Barakat has played vital international roles in evaluating the recovery of war-torn and fragile societies, and advocating best practice through his writings and his practical engagement with various professional bodies. He has acted as an advisor on policy and strategy, provided technical assistance and delivered training workshops for the governments of Afghanistan, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Uganda, United Kingdom, United States, Sri Lanka as well as for the United Nations, the European Commission, the World Bank, the Overseas Development Institute, and numerous non-governmental organizations.