Visiting Professor, International Studies & Political Science

Curriculum Vitae

Dr. Berna received a dual B.A. in Political Science and English Literature from Niagara University in 1998. As an alumnus of Niagara University, we are very happy to have him back on campus. Dr. Berna has two Masters Degrees: A M.S. in History/Education from Canisius (1999) and a M.A. from the University of New Orleans in International Relations and Comparative Politics (2003). His Ph.D. is from the University of New Orleans, also in International Relations and Comparative Politics.  His dissertation, which was successfully defended in March 2008, addresses Islamic fundamentalism and anti-system social movements. Dr. Berna taught at the University of New Orleans for five years and at Tulane University for one. He has taught classes in American Government, International Relations, and Comparative Politics.

Dr. Berna’s research deals with the Islamic world and Islamic fundamentalism. He is currently working on three projects. First, he is writing a paper that takes a quantitative approach to examining the causes of Islamic fundamentalism, using a data set he created that lists all fundamentalist groups in the Islamic world over the last thirty-five years. Secondly, he is working on a book that looks at U.S. foreign policy and what it is about our foreign policy that is facilitating the Islamic condemnation toward the United States. Finally, he is working on a paper that evaluates the causes of suicide terrorism.

When asked why he chose this field of study, Dr. Berna responded, “The Islamic world fascinates me. No other region, religion, or people are more misunderstood in the United States than Muslims and the Middle East. Islamic fundamentalism is currently our greatest threat to the global economy, international relations, and the United States. It is imperative that we understand fundamentalists, understand their passions, and why they hate us if we are ever going to defeat them.”

Dr. Berna was asked why he chose to come back to Niagara University, and he explained, “The heart of Niagara University is the students.  Niagara students are special. Niagara University’s faculty and staff are different from other universities, they do not see Niagara simply as a paycheck and the students as the means to that paycheck but they see the University and the students as a family and this gives the University a very special feel. You not find this at larger universities.” The he added “there are also no hurricanes here.”

He was in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina:  “I witnessed first hand governmental incompetence on every level. There was four feet of water in my neighborhood and four feet in the house. I remember when I returned to the city for the first time, about 3 weeks before we (New Orleanians) were allowed back in (I snuck in). Everything was dead – all the trees and grass, I have never seen so many shades of gray. The streets and houses were coded with a gray slime and animals, rusted cars, toys, and blown-down trees filled the streets. And the smell… I hope to never smell that odor again. The city had died.”

This semester Dr. Berna is teaching courses on terrorism and revolutions. His office door is always open and he has a huge bowl of candy on his desk, ready to rot his student’s teeth.