David H. Shinn has been teaching in the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University since 2001.  He previously served in the U.S. Foreign Service for 37 years with assignments at embassies in Lebanon, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritania, Cameroon, Sudan and as ambassador to Burkina Faso and Ethiopia.  Among other positions in the State Department, he was director for East Africa, Horn of Africa and Indian Ocean island countries.  He has written numerous book chapters and articles in policy and academic journals.  He is the co-author of China and Africa: A Century of Engagement (2012) and Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia (2004 and 2013), and he is Editorial Board member of the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies.  He appears frequently on the Voice of America, Aljazeera, British Broadcasting Corporation, and Radio France Internationale.  Ambassador Shinn has a PhD in political science from George Washington University.  He blogs at http://davidshinn.blogspot.com.