Associate Professor and Head of Research, Section for Security Cooperation, Institute for Strategy and War Studies, Royal Danish Defence College

Extraordinary Professor, Stellenbosch University, Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA)

Bio
Thomas Mandrup is Associate Professor and Head of Research at the Section for Security Cooperation, Institute for Strategy and War Studies at the Royal Danish Defence College, and Professor at Stellenbosch University's Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA). His research focuses on African security policy, peace operations, military capacity building, and international stabilisation missions in Sub-Saharan Africa. He has advised the African Union and other regional actors on security policy, military missions, and capacity-building initiatives. His current research examines African-led military operations against insurgencies in regions such as the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia. He has conducted extensive fieldwork across Africa and frequently provides expert analysis on African security and international peace operations.

Research Profile
Thomas Mandrup is Associate Professor and Head of Research at the Section for Security Cooperation, Institute for Strategy and War Studies at the Royal Danish Defence College, and an internationally recognised scholar specialising in African security policy, peace operations, and military capacity building. His research and advisory work focus on security and defence policy, conflict management, and international military operations, with particular emphasis on developments in Sub-Saharan Africa. He regularly provides expert commentary on security developments in Africa, international stabilisation operations, military missions, and the role of regional and international actors in conflict management on the African continent.
Over the past two decades, Mandrup has conducted extensive research on the development and future of African-led and United Nations peace operations, as well as broader international stabilisation efforts in Africa. In this capacity, he has advised the African Union (AU) and a range of national and regional African actors on security policy, military missions, and capacity-building initiatives.
His current research examines the use of military force in African-led operations against the insurgencies, including groups related to the Islamic State (IS) and Al-Qaida (AQ). The project analyses stabilisation operations in the Sahel, the Lake Chad Basin, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia, focusing on how regional and international actors address complex security threats in fragile and conflict-affected environments.
Mandrup has extensive experience leading and conducting complex fieldwork and international research projects, as well as developing and delivering military education and capacity-building programmes in several African countries.
In addition to his position at the Royal Danish Defence College, he is a Professor at Stellenbosch University in South Africa, an institution that maintains long-standing cooperation with the Royal Danish Defence College. He was a co-founder of the Security Institute for Governance and Leadership in Africa (SIGLA) at Stellenbosch University and remains affiliated with the centre, which is based at the South African Military Academy.
Mandrup holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Copenhagen (2007). His doctoral dissertation, Africa: Salvation or Despair? A Study of the Post-Apartheid South African Government's Use of the Military Tool in its Foreign Policy Conduct from 1994 to 2006 examines South Africa's use of military instruments in foreign policy following the end of apartheid. The project was funded by the Danish Institute for International Studies (DIIS), where he served as a researcher from 2004 to 2007. He also holds an MA in African Studies and a Master's degree from Roskilde University (RUC).
He has extensive experience as a consultant and adviser to Danish and South African authorities and international organisations, including the United Nations, the African Union (AU), the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), the European Union, Chatham House, and diplomatic missions in Africa.
From 2018 to 2020, Mandrup served as editor of the South African Journal of Military Studies. He has conducted extensive fieldwork across Africa, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Mali, Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Mozambique, and Sudan.
Between 2016 and 2017, he led the African component of a major EU-funded Horizon 2020 research project examining the European Union's conflict management policies. During the same period, he served as research lead for an AU/ISS project analysing the terrorist threat to the African Union Mission in Somalia.

Areas of Expertise
•    African security policy
•    Security and conflicts in Sub-Saharan Africa
•    Peace and stabilisation operations
•    Military capacity building and security cooperation
•    International military operations and conflict management
•    Regional focus: Sahel, South Africa, Mozambique, DR Congo, Central African Republic, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Lake Chad Basin
•    New wars, hybrid warfare, and the privatisation of security
•    Civil-military relations and military culture
•    United Nations peace operations, including the future of UN missions

Media and Public Engagement
Thomas Mandrup has published more than 60 articles and book chapters in peer-reviewed journals and edited volumes on foreign and security policy, the privatisation of security, climate security, and peace operations in Africa. He has extensive experience engaging with international media and regularly provides expert analysis on security developments in African conflict zones, as well as on the geopolitical implications of external actors' engagement on the continent.
International media outlets frequently seek his expertise, and his fieldwork experience spans many of Africa's major conflict regions.

Selected Publications
•    Mandrup, T., et al. (2025). The Effectiveness of the SADC Mission in Mozambique (SAMIM). Joint EPON-TFP Study, NUPI, Oslo, November 2025, pp. 1–30. https://www.nupi.no/en/projects-centres/effectiveness-of-peace-operations-network
•    Mandrup, T. (2023). "Ad hoc coalitions hinder a more unified African Union." Udenrigs – Africa's New Geopolitical Role, Vol. 4 (2023).
•    Vreÿ, F. & Mandrup, T. (eds.) (2023). Security Governance and African Ungoverned Spaces: Understanding and Addressing the Void. Stellenbosch: SUN Media. ISBN: 978-1-991260-10-9.