Thomas M. Magstadt earned his Ph.D. at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He has taught at the Air War College, Augustana College, University of Nebraska at Kearney, and University of Missouri–Kansas City; worked for the federal government as an intelligence analyst; and was a Fulbright Lecturer in the Czech Republic. He is the author of two political science textbooks, Understanding Politics: Ideas, Institutions, and Issues, 6th edition (2003) and Nations and Governments: Comparative Politics in Regional Perspective, 5th edition, (2004). His articles have appeared in such publications as Worldview, Reason, National Review, and many major newspapers.