Born in South Africa in May 1950, Martin Plaut received his first degree in Social Science from the University of Cape Town (1975) and an Honours degree in Industrial Relations from the University of the Witwatersrand (1977) before going on to do an MA at the University of Warwick (1978).

He worked for a year as an Industrial Relations officer with Mobil Oil before joining the British Labour Party as Secretary on Africa and the Middle East in 1979. In 1984 he was recruited by the BBC, working primarily on Africa. He reported from many parts of the continent but specialised in the Horn of Africa and Southern Africa. He was appointed Africa editor, BBC World Service News in 2003 and retired from the BBC in October 2013. He subsequently joined King’s College as a Visiting Senior Research Fellow.

Martin Plaut has advised the FCDO, the US State Department and the European Parliament. He was an Associate Fellow of the Royal Institute of International Affairs, leading their Africa research programme and continues to be an active member of Chatham House and the Royal United Services Institute. 

Research Interests

Martin's primary interest is the Horn of Africa and southern Africa, although he has also worked on security issues across the continent. He is currently writing a history of African slavery which has been commissioned by Hurst.

Publications

Books:

• Understanding African Slavery, Hurst, London (forthcoming)
• Understanding Ethiopia’s Tigray war, Hurst, London 2023, February 2023 (with Sarah Vaughan)
• Dr Abdullah Abdurahman: South Africa’s first elected black politician, Jacana Media, 2020
• Understanding South Africa, Hurst, 2019 (with Carien du Plessis)
• Robert Mugabe, Ohio University Press, April 2018 (with Sue Onslow)

Research Articles:

• A Very South African Plot? The 1987 London Kidnap Plan, Journal of Southern African Studies, DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2021.1911214, Vol. 47, No 3, May 2021 (with Roland Oliphant)
• Race and Imperialism in the British Empire: A Lateral View, South African Historical Journal, 2020, 1080/02582473.2020.1724191(With David Killingray)
• Media Freedom in South Africa, The Round Table, 19 March 2018 https://doi.org/10.1080/00358533.2018.1448341
• The Ethiopian famine: war, weapons and aid, The RUSI Journal, DOI: 10.1080/03071847.2017.1414736, January 2018
• Reporting Conflict in Africa, Media, War and Conflict, Vol 10, Issue 1, 2017
• Z.S. Peregrino, A Significant but Duplicitous Figure in the Black Atlantic World(with David Killingray), South African Historical Journal, August 2016

Please visit Martin's PURE Profile here.