Dr. Mats Berdal

Biography

Mats Berdal joined the Department of War Studies at King's College London in 2003, where he serves as a Professor of Security and Development and the Director of the Conflict, Security and Development Research Group (CSDRG). He oversees the MA program in Conflict, Security and Development. Prior to this role, he was the Director of Studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London, managing the institute's research program from 2000 to 2003. He was a senior fellow at IISS from 2009 to 2011 and directed its Economics of Conflict Resolution Programme from 2006 to 2019. Mats has also served as an adjunct professor at the Norwegian Defence University College. His involvement in significant governmental inquiries includes serving on the Norwegian Commission of Inquiry into Afghanistan to evaluate Norway's military and humanitarian involvement in the region from 2001 to 2014. He holds a BSc (Econ) from the London School of Economics and a doctorate from the University of Oxford. Berdal is a member of Academia Europaea, and his research interests include Strategic Studies, Conflict, Security Development, the role of the UN in international peace and security, and the political economy of armed conflict, particularly in post-conflict societies.

Research Interests