ZACH VERTIN is a writer, foreign policy analyst, and former diplomat. He has spent the last thirteen years working in international politics and peace and conflict issues. He is currently a Lecturer of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and a Visiting Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Doha Center. He served at the State Department during the administration of Barack Obama and was closely involved in the South Sudan peace process. He also served as a Senior Analyst for the International Crisis Group in the Horn of Africa and an advisor on UN peace operations and multilateral affairs in New York. He has written or commented for: The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Economist, CNN, Al Jazeera, Guardian, Le Monde, Reuters, Bloomberg and the BBC. He lives in Washington, D.C.