Sean McFate

Current

• Assistant Professor at National Defense University, Washington, DC

Past

• Program Director at Bipartisan Policy Center
• Program Manager at DynCorp International
• Policy Advisor at Amnesty International USA

1 more...

Education

• London School of Economics and Political Science
• Harvard University Kennedy School of Government
• Brown University

Recommended

3 people have recommended Sean

Connections

105 connections

Industry

International Affairs

Sean McFate’s Summary

Sean McFate is an expert in U.S. foreign policy, stability operations, and sub-Saharan Africa. Currently he is an Assistant Professor at the National Defense University, located at Fort McNair in Washington DC, where he teaches courses on conflict management, stabilization and reconstruction to senior military officers and government civilians. He was also a Program Director on national security issues at the Bipartisan Policy Center, a Washington DC think tank. There he directed the “Stabilizing Fragile States” project, chaired by retired General Jim Jones, the current National Security Advisor. Before joining the Center, he was a Program Manager for DynCorp International that provides services to the U.S. government. In that capacity, he helped design and lead several U.S. stabilization programs in Africa, including: safely demobilizing Liberian dictator Charles Taylor’s military; fully reconstituting the Armed Forces of Liberia and Ministry of Defense; retraining Burundi’s elite Presidential Guard; and professionalizing the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army. Prior to this he was a policy adviser for Amnesty International USA, building bridges between the non-government organizations (NGOs) and U.S. military special operations communities. Sean also served as an officer in the U.S. Army, primarily as a paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division. He has published in African Affairs, Military Review, RUSI Journal, Review of African Political Economy and a U.S. 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 holds double BAs from Brown University, a MPP from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, and is completing his PhD in international relations at the London School of Economics.

Sean McFate’s Specialties:

US foreign policy and national security strategy; stability operations; counterinsurgency theory; interagency and “whole of government” approaches; security sector reform; private military companies

Additional Information

Sean McFate’s Interests:

Opera & classical music, skiing, SCUBA