Prof. Sean McFate

Assistant Professor of International Security Studies

Email: mcfates@ndu.edu

B.A. (History, Religious Studies) Brown University, 1992

M.P.P. (Public Policy) Harvard Kennedy School of Government, 2006

Ph.D. (International Relations) London School of Economics, all but dissertation

Prior to joining the College, Prof. McFate was a Program Director on national security issues at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington DC think tank founded by former senate majority leaders Bob Dole, George Mitchell, Howard Baker, and Tom Daschle. 

Prof. McFate also helped design and lead several U.S. stabilization programs in Africa, particularly in Liberia and Burundi.  Prior to this he was a policy adviser for Amnesty International USA, specializing in foreign security forces training and human rights. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Army, primarily as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. 

Sean has published in African Affairs, Military Review, RUSI Journal, Review of African Political Economy and a US Institute of Peace Special Report on security sector reform.  He has authored several book chapters in edited volumes on foreign affairs and was a contributor to The Encyclopedia of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and also War Crimes and Trials: A Historical Encyclopedia. 

Sean is an expert in foreign policy and national security strategy. His focus includes privatization of security, security sector reform, sub-Saharan Africa, and future trends in armed conflict.