Erica Frantz is an assistant professor of Political Science at Michigan State University. She specializes in authoritarian politics, democratization, conflict, and development. She is particularly interested in communicating the security and policy implications of autocratic rule and regularly interfaces with the policy community. Her work has appeared in multiple academic journals and a variety of policy-oriented outlets. She has also published five books on dictatorships and development, the most recent of which is Authoritarianism: What Everyone Needs to Know (forthcoming).