John J. Chin is an assistant teaching professor in the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where he has previously served as research coordinator and post-doctoral fellow. Before entering academia, he was an international affairs analyst at the Congressional Budget Office.

Joseph G. Wright is a professor of political science and co-director of the Global and International Studies (GLIS) program at Pennsylvania State University. He is the author of multiple articles and three previous books: Foreign Pressure and the Politics of Autocratic Survival, How Dictatorships Work, and Migration and Democracy.

David B. Carter is associate professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis. His research and teaching examines international relations, territorial conflict, terrorism, and political methodology. He has previously taught political science at Princeton University and Pennsylvania State University.