 He gained a BSc degree from the London School of Economics in 1988, and a DPhil degree from St Antony's College, Oxford in 1992.From 2000 to 2003 Berdal was Director of Studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London.Between 2007 and 2011, Berdal was a Visiting Professor at the Norwegian Defence University College and was a Consulting Senior Fellow at the IISS from 2009 to 2011, responsible for the Institute’s “Economics and Conflict Resolution Programme”.