From 1996 to 2005 he served as the National Director of the South African Institute of International Affairs. He has lectured at the
University of the Western Cape,
University of Cape Town He is a visiting lecturer at the NATO Higher Defence College in Rome, and is a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Arts. An accomplished author of several books, he is also widely published in newspapers and magazines including the
International Herald Tribune,
New York Times, Time,
Sydney Morning Herald,
Financial Times,
Straits Times,
Die Welt and Politiken. He is a Research Associate of the CDISS, and a Member of the
International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). He serves on a number of international editorial boards. During 2006, based in Kabul, he served as the special adviser to the Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan, General Sir
David Richards, and as the head of the strategic analysis
Prism Group of the ninth
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF IX). During 2008 he was on secondment to the Government of Rwanda as Strategic Adviser to the President. In April 2008 he was appointed as a Commissioner on the Danish Prime Minister's 'Africa Commission'. ==Personal life==