Attacks in Paris and Beirut Put New Focus on the War on Terror* NSU Home to Subject Matter Expert on Religious Extremism/Terrorism *

Newswise — FORT LAUDERDALE-DAVIE, Fla. –In the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut, global leaders are once again faced with the grim reality of the global terrorism epidemic. To help explain the new challenges that leaders will be encountering, Nova Southeastern University has a local expert in the area of Middle East politics, fundamentalism and religious extremism available to assist reporters working on related stories.

Dustin Berna, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in Nova Southeastern University’s College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

Berna earned his doctorate from the University of New Orleans in 2008. His two major fields of study were Middle Eastern politics and international relations. His dissertation was a quantitative study that evaluated the causes and electoral success of Islamic fundamentalist movements. Berna has collected and coded every Islamic fundamentalist group that is, or has been, in operation in the Islamic world since 1970. He has recently finished a book on ISIS, Ignorance, Isis, and Indoctrination: The World of Islamic Fundamentalism. His book is currently under review at Duke University Press and is expected to be published next year

Berna’s research specializations include Middle Eastern politics, Islamic fundamentalism, religious extremism, social movements, terrorism, and political institutions. He has taught classes on the Iraq War, Islamic politics, Middle Eastern politics, terrorism, political violence, international relations, U.S. foreign policy, the politics of developing states, revolutions, international negotiation and violence prevention. Berna has written numerous articles on topics that range from terrorism and Islamic fundamentalism to Iranian political institutions and Islamic democracy. Berna has experience working with print and broadcast media.

Along with his Ph.D., Berna has two Masters Degrees – an M.A. in political science and a M.S. in history education. Dr. Berna also has two baccalaureate degrees; a B.A. in political science and a B.A. in English literature.

About Nova Southeastern University (NSU): Located in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is a dynamic research institution dedicated to providing high-quality educational programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree levels. A private, not-for-profit institution with more than 24,000 students, NSU has campuses in Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Miramar, Orlando, Palm Beach, and Tampa, Florida, as well as San Juan, Puerto Rico, while maintaining a presence online globally. For more than 50 years, NSU has been awarding degrees in a wide range of fields, while fostering groundbreaking research and an impactful commitment to community. Classified as a research university with “high research activity” by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, NSU is 1 of only 37 universities nationwide to also be awarded Carnegie’s Community Engagement Classification, and is also the largest private, not-for-profit institution in the United States that meets the U.S. Department of Education's criteria as a Hispanic-serving Institution. Please visit www.nova.edu for more information.