Sarah Teitt

Dr. Sarah Teitt is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Political Science & International Studies, University of Queensland, and serves as the Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect. She is also an Australian Research Council DECRA Senior Research Fellow. The Asia Pacific Centre for R2P is a joint initiative between the University of Queensland and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, focusing on advancing knowledge and policy on the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and mass atrocity prevention in the Asia Pacific region.

Dr. Teitt earned her Bachelor of Arts from Roanoke College, followed by a Master's degree and PhD from the University of Queensland. She has been actively involved with the Asia Pacific Centre for R2P since its inception in 2008, serving as a founding member of the management team and as Outreach Director from 2009 to mid-2012.

Her research focuses on Chinese foreign policy in relation to international intervention, peacebuilding, humanitarian emergency response, and the politics of genocide and mass atrocity prevention in the Asia Pacific region. Dr. Teitt has made significant contributions to understanding China's position on the Responsibility to Protect norm, Chinese peacekeeping policy, and the intersection of gender with atrocity prevention. Her recent work has increasingly examined regional dynamics in Southeast Asia, particularly regarding the Rohingya crisis and Myanmar's political situation. Her publications reveal a consistent focus on how regional powers like China approach international norms related to humanitarian intervention and atrocity prevention, with growing attention to gender dimensions and practical implementation challenges in the Asia Pacific context.

• Australian Research Council DECRA Senior Research Fellow
• Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
• Recipient of multiple research grants from the Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade

Dr. Teitt is actively involved in mentoring the next generation of scholars, currently supervising a PhD student researching Vietnam's engagement with international human rights institutions. She has previously supervised several PhD students to completion, including research on Hong Kong's 2019 Anti-ELAB Movement, Chinese peacebuilding in Myanmar, and Indonesia's UN peacekeeping contributions. Her supervision often focuses on Asian security issues, human rights, and peacebuilding. She has secured significant grant funding, including an ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (2019-2025) for "China and the Future of International Peacebuilding" and ongoing funding from the Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade for "R2P Stage 7: Implementing the Responsibility to Protect in the Asia Pacific" (2024-2028).

As Director of the Asia Pacific Centre for R2P, Dr. Teitt leads a multidisciplinary team focused on research, training, and policy engagement related to atrocity prevention. The Centre works closely with government agencies, civil society organizations, and academic institutions across the Asia Pacific region to develop practical approaches for preventing mass atrocities. Under her leadership, the Centre has expanded its work on gender dimensions of atrocity prevention and developed training programs for regional stakeholders.