John J. Chin

I am an assistant teaching professor in the Institute for Politics and Strategy at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), where I previously served as research coordinator and post-doctoral fellow. In AY 2020-21, I was a non-resident post-doctoral fellow with the International Center for Nonviolent Conflict.

My research focuses on the politics of coups d’état, mass protest and nonviolent revolution, authoritarian politics, comparative democratization, China's political development, and forecasting political instability. I am the lead author of an Historical Dictionary of Modern Coups D'état (with Joseph Wright and David Carter, Rowman & Littlefield, 2022). My research has been published in the British Journal of Political Science, Comparative Political Studies, Frontiers in Political Science, International Studies Quarterly, and the Journal of Chinese Political Science. I have also written for general audiences in the Brown Journal of World Affairs, the Georgetown Journal of International Affairs, Political Violence at a Glance, The Monkey Cage, and the Washington Post. 

My teaching interests span international relations and comparative politics. I regularly teach the following courses: Theories of International Relations, Diplomacy and Statecraft, Nonviolent Conflict and Revolution, The Future of Democracy, International Human Rights, and Civil-Military Relations. I have also taught courses on writing for political science and policy and collaborative research in political science.

I hold a Ph.D. in Politics from Princeton University (2017), an M.P.P. from the University of Michigan (2008), and a B.A. in Political Science and Chinese from the University of Notre Dame (2006). Prior to my doctoral studies, I worked as an international affairs analyst at the Congressional Budget Office (2008-2010). I also have prior policy experience at the Rand Corporation, U.S. Treasury Department, U.S. State Department, and Atlantic Council of the United States.

You can contact me by e-mail at jjchin[at]andrew.cmu.edu.