Kenneth David Bush

Kenneth Bush is the Al-Tajir Lecturer in Post-War Recovery Studies. He received his PhD in International Relations and Comparative Politics from Cornell University, and holds Masters degrees in Government (Cornell) and International Affairs (Carleton), as well as undergraduate degrees in Political Science and in Asian Studies (both from Carleton). 

Dr. Bush was a tenured founding professor of the Conflict Studies Programme of St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada, and has held teaching positions at the University of Ulster, Queen’s University (Canada), Carleton University, and Bilkent University (Turkey).

Throughout his career, Dr. Bush has worked within and between academia and conflict zones.  His pioneering work on Peace and Conflict Impact Assessment (PCIA), and on-going work on evaluation in conflict zones, seek to bridge the gap between Peace and Conflict Studies and Evaluation research and practice.  In addition to teaching graduate courses on evaluation in conflict zones, he conducts workshops with mid-level professionals on the logistical, political, methodological, and ethical challenges of researching and evaluating in conflict zones (broadly defined).  

Dr. Bush has worked with a broad spectrum of humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding organizations in the Global North and South -- from community-based groups through to bilateral and multilateral agencies.  This includes serving as:

• Human rights monitor
• Evaluator in conflict zones
• Special advisor on humanitarian Issues to the Canadian government during its tenure on UN Security Council (1998-2000)
• Team leader for the development of the AusAID engagement strategy in Mindanao
• Post-tsunami results monitor
• Special advisor on democracy and governance
• Technical expert - access to justice
• Independent Member of the Monitoring Committee of the PEACE III Programme (Northern Ireland)

A Canadian by birth and by disposition, Dr. Bush has worked intensively in South and South East Asia (specifically Sri Lanka and Mindanao), as has undertaken fieldwork in number of other countries, including, Turkey, Uganda, Mozambique, South Africa, and Bosnia Herzegovina.