Brian Klaas

Brian Paul Klaas (born 29 June 1986) is an American political scientist, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, and an associate professor in global politics at University College London.

He co-authored How to Rig an Election (2018) and authored Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us (2021) and Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters (2024).

Education
Klaas was born in Golden Valley, Minnesota. He earned a BA (Summa cum laude) from Carleton College (2008), where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned an MPhil degree in political science from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford. He subsequently completed his DPhil in political science at New College, University of Oxford.

Career
Klaas is associate professor in global politics at University College London. After completing his DPhil at New College, University of Oxford, he was a Fellow in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics.

Klaas is a frequent commentator in the media on US foreign policy and democratization. His articles have been published in The New York Times, The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, the Los Angeles Times, and The Guardian. He appears regularly on MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, CNN and other outlets.

He was policy director and deputy campaign manager for Mark Dayton's successful bid for governor of Minnesota in 2010.

Publications

 * The Despot's Accomplice: How the West is Aiding and Abetting the Decline of Democracy, Hurst, 2016, ISBN 978-1849046879
 * The Despot's Apprentice: Donald Trump's Attack on Democracy, Skyhorse Publishing, 2017, ISBN 978-1510735859
 * How to Rig an Election, Yale University Press, 2018, ISBN 978-0300204438
 * Corruptible: Who Gets Power and How It Changes Us, Scribner, 2021, ISBN 978-1982154097
 * Fluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do Matters, Scribner, 2024, ISBN 9781668006528