Dr. Sean McFate is an author, novelist, and professor of international relations. He holds three professorships: National Defense University’s College of International Security Affairs, Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and Syracuse University’s Maxwell School.
McFate is one of the world's leading experts on mercenaries and the future of war. He advises the Pentagon and Hollywood, and has appeared on all major news networks.
His career began as a paratrooper and officer in the U.S. Army’s famed 82nd Airborne Division, and graduated from elite training programs, such as Jungle Warfare School in Panama. He was also a Jump Master.
McFate then became a private military contractor, leading missions around the world traditionally performed by the CIA or military special forces. Among his experiences, he dealt with African warlords; raised small armies to protect U.S. interests; rode with armed groups in the Sahara; conducted strategic reconnaissance for the extractive industry; transacted arms deals in Eastern Europe; and helped prevent a genocide in the Rwanda region.
Later, he wrote three novels based on his experiences called the Tom Locke Trilogy. #1 New York Times bestselling author James Patterson said: “Sean McFate just might be the next Tom Clancy, only I think he’s even better.”
After he hung up his holsters, he became a Vice President at TD International, a boutique political risk consulting firm. He was at social scientists at RAND, a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council, and a Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford University. He is a war consultant in Hollywood and the video gaming industry, including Gray Zone Warfare that sold a million copies in a month.
McFate authored The New Rules of War (Morrow) which was named a “Book of the Year” by The Economist. It has been translated into 14 languages, and in the UK it’s titled Goliath: Why the West Doesn't Win Wars. And What We Need to Do About It (Penguin). He authored The Modern Mercenary: Private Armies and What They Mean for World Order (Oxford University Press) which Foreign Affairs hailed as “essential reading.” He has written 20 academic articles or book chapters. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Newsweek, Time, Politico, The Daily Beast, Foreign Policy, The Hill, and War on the Rocks. He has been interviewed on CNN, Fox, MSNBC, BBC, NPR, Sky News, Al Jazeera, Die Welt, France24, Voice of America, The Discovery Channel, and debated at the Oxford Union.
He holds a BA from Brown University, a MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a Ph.D. in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). When he was 19, he backpacked solo around the world for a year with only $400, which he regards as his greatest education. You can find out more at www.seanmcfate.com