David Shambaugh

David Shambaugh
Shambaugh speaking in 2015
Born	David Leigh Shambaugh
Citizenship	American
Occupations	Political scientist sinologist policy advisor
Title	Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science & International Affairs; founding Director of the China Policy Program at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University (1996—)
Board member of	National Bureau of Asian Research’s Board of Advisors; National Committee on U.S.-China Relations (2008—2014); American Hearing Research Foundation (2008—); Editorial Board of The Washington Quarterly and other academic journals.
Academic background
Education	Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University (BA in East Asian Studies) Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University (MA in International Affairs) University of Michigan (PhD in Political Science)
Thesis	China's America Watchers' Images of the United States, 1972-1986 (1988)
Doctoral advisor	Michel Oksenberg and Allen Whiting
Academic work
Discipline	Political Science, International Relations, Chinese studies
Sub-discipline	China's domestic politics; China's foreign relations; China's military and security; U.S. foreign policy; international relations of Asia.
Institutions	Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University; School of Oriental & African Studies, University of London (1987-1996)
Main interests	Contemporary Chinese history, China's domestic politics, China's foreign relations, China's military and security, and international relations of Asia
Notable works	Where Great Powers Meet: America & China in Southeast Asia (2021) China Goes Global: The Partial Power (2013) China’s Leaders from Mao to Now (2021) Breaking the Engagement: How China Won & Lost America (2025) China’s Future (2016)

David Leigh Shambaugh (Chinese: 沈大伟; born January 18, 1953) is an American political scientist, sinologist and policy advisor. He currently serves as the Gaston Sigur Professor of Asian Studies, Political Science, and International Affairs at George Washington University, where he is also the director of the China Policy Program at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs. He is also Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution (2024—). He was previously a non-resident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution.^[1][2][3] Shambaugh served in the Department of State, and on the White House National Security Council staff during the presidency of Jimmy Carter.^[4][5] As an author, Shambaugh has authored 12 and edited 21 books, and over 200 scholarly articles and newspaper op-eds.