ABOUT ERICA FRANTZ, Ph.D.

Erica Frantz, Ph.D. is an associate professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. She specializes in authoritarian politics, with a focus on democratization, conflict, and development. She has published seven books on these themes, including “Authoritarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know” published in 2018 by Oxford University Press. In 2020, she won the MSU College of Social Science Outstanding Teacher award. Prior to joining academia, she worked as a political analyst for a Washington think tank, where she worked on evidence-based foreign policy approaches. Her work has been funded by the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and private foundations. See Dr. Frantz's CV here.