Dustin Berna


  • Ph.D., M.A., Political Science, University of New Orleans
  • M.S., History, Canisius College
  • B.A., Political Science, Niagara University

Dustin Berna joined Lenoir-Rhyne in 2023 as an associate professor. Prior to joining LR, Berna spent 15 years at Nova Southeastern University in South Florida as an assistant professor and then associate professor of political science and conflict resolution.

His research specializations include Middle Eastern politics, Islamic fundamentalism, religious extremism, social movements, terrorism and political institutions. He has collected and coded every Islamic fundamentalist group that is or has been in operation in the Islamic world since 1970. Over the years, he has made more than 150 media appearances and has written dozens of op-eds.

Berna has taught classes on Islamic politics, Middle Eastern politics, Middle Eastern conflict, terrorism, political violence, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, politics of developing states, revolutions, international conflict, public policy, quantitative research, national security and conflict resolution. He has written numerous articles on topics that range from terrorism, Islamic fundamentalism and religious extremism to Iranian political institutions, Islamic democracy and social movements to U.S. foreign policy and national security.

Berna is from New Orleans and is an avid art collector.