Mark Sedra, PhD
Dr. Mark Sedra co-founded the Centre for Security Governance (CSG) in 2012 and has been the Executive Director of the Centre for most of its existence. Mark is also the President of the Security Governance Group (SGG), a private public policy research firm specializing in international security and governance issues. Taken together the CSG and SGG have implemented projects across four continents, working with a diverse array of partners, funders and clients, including governments, intergovernmental agencies and non-governmental organizations.
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In March 2017, Mark took a temporary leave from the SGG and CSG to assume the position of President and Research Director of the Canadian International Council (CIC). Founded in 1928, the CIC is one of Canada's oldest think tanks and has been at the forefront of debate on Canada’s role in the world for almost nine decades. For 17 months Mark successfully led a push to modernize the institution and revamp its research program. Mark also previously worked at the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), where he led the organization's security program, and is a previous recipient of the prestigious Cadieux-Léger Fellowship at Global Affairs Canada.
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Complementing his work in the applied research field, Mark has remained an active academic. Between 2008 and 2018 Mark was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo, where he taught courses and supervised graduate students. Mark has also served as a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Toronto and is currently a Fellow at the Balsillie School of International Affairs (BSIA).
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Mark has published widely during his career having authored or co-authored three books, edited three collections of essays and produced more than 70 book chapters, policy papers and journals articles. From 2016-20, he served as the Editor-in-Chief of Stability: International Journal of Security and Development, one of the world’s most read open-access academic journals in the international security and development fields, and is currently a co-editor of the Routledge book series, Routledge Studies in Conflict, Security and Development.
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Mark has engaged the media extensively during his career, having given over 400 interviews to TV, radio, and print outlets including: The Wall Street Journal, The Globe & Mail, BBC, CBC, CTV and NPR. He has also produced numerous op-eds that have been published in a range of publications from The Globe & Mail and Toronto Star to the San Francisco Bay Guardian and Miami Herald.
Mark has presented at conferences and other events in over 20 countries and has provided discreet advice to governments and international agencies. He has testified twice in front of Canadian House of Commons Standing Committees (Foreign Affairs and Defence) and previously served as a member of the UK Defence Academy’s Advanced Research and Assessment Group, which supplied UK policymakers with focused and timely analysis of current and future national and international security threats. Mark has been a consultant to numerous governments and international agencies including the UK Department for International Development (DFID), the United Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and Global Affairs Canada.
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Mark received a Hons. BA in History and Political Science from the University of Toronto, an M.Sc. in International Relations and History from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a PhD in Political Studies from SOAS in the University of London. He currently lives with his family in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, where the CSG and SGG are based. He has been an active contributor to the community and was named by the Waterloo Region Record as one of the region's Top 40 under 40 in 2011, a distinction recognizing young leaders making a difference in the area.
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