Delia Claire Burns

I am a political economist, conflict analyst, and peacebuilding specialist. I currently research the contributions of transnational private business, particularly involving land development, to violent political settlements in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, and Unity State, South Sudan. Prior to beginning my PhD studies, I was a global-level peacebuilding specialist with UNHCR, an independent researcher of armed conflict in Kenya and Ethiopia, and a humanitarian program coordinator in South Sudan. My research relies on comparative case studies and process tracing approaches, with a particular eye on new materialisms, postcolonial capitalist transformation, and global economic (in)justice. Additionally, my work is explicitly value-led and angled toward concrete policy engagement for more effective, grassroots-focused peace efforts. I hold a Masters of Arts in Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School at Tufts University and a Bachelor of Arts in humanitarian studies from Fordham University. 

Armed conflict in the Horn of Africa, international political economy, political economy of conflict, political conflict of development, political unsettlement, political settlements analysis, political marketplace, transnational business, transactional politics, peacebuilding, peacemaking, corporate accountability, New Materialisms

Guest Lecture, "Humanitarian Policy Making," at Sciences Po Grenoble, 6 November 2025.