He was the first analyst to identify the risk of massive local government debt, and is the author of “Factions and Finance in China: Elite Conflict and Inflation.” Prior to joining UC San Diego’s School of Global Policy and Strategy, Shih was a professor of political science at Northwestern University and former principal for The Carlyle Group. Shih is currently engaged in a study of how the coalition-formation strategies of founding leaders had a profound impact on the evolution of the Chinese Communist Party. He is also constructing a large database on biographical information of elites in China. He holds a Ph.D. in Government from Harvard University and a B.A. in East Asian Studies from George Washington University. He was interviewed by Anna Balderston CMC '18 on Jan. 29, 2016.