David Keen (born 21 September 1958)[1] is a political economist and Professor of Complex Emergencies at the London School of Economics,[2] where he has worked since the 1990s.
He was educated at Cambridge and Oxford in economics and anthropology, and was formerly a consultant for NGOs and development agencies, and a journalist.
Keen is a theorist of contemporary conflict, notably in African society.
[citation needed] He has done fieldwork in Sudan, Sierra Leone and Iraq, and archival research.
Famines have powerful beneficiaries including political elites and traders.