Brian Klaas

Brian Paul Klaas (born June 29, 1986) is an American political scientist, a contributing writer at The Atlantic, and a 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). Klaas was named one of the 25 top thinkers globally for 2025 by Prospect magazine.

Early life and education Klaas is from Golden Valley, Minnesota.

Career After completing his DPhil, he was a Fellow in Comparative Politics at the London School of Economics. In 2010, he was policy director and deputy campaign manager for Mark Dayton's successful bid for governor of Minnesota in 2010.

Klaas has been a frequent commentator in the media on US foreign policy and democratization. His articles have been published in The New York Times in 2015, The Financial Times, Foreign Affairs in 2016, Foreign Policy, the Los Angeles Times in 2017, and The Guardian in 2016, He appears regularly on MSNBC, CNBC, BBC, CNN and other outlets.

Klaas is a professor in global politics at University College London.

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