Jack A. Goldstone is the Virginia E. and John T. Hazel Jr. Professor at the George Mason School of Public Policy. His work has focused on revolutions, rebellions, state failures, and their sociological and economic correlates. His recent work also considers the rise of the West as a theme in world history.

Goldstone is the author or editor of numerous books, including Revolution and Rebellion in the Early Modern World (1991), Theories of Revolution and the East European Revolutions of 1989 (1993), Voice and Silence in Contentious Politics (2001), and Why Europe? The Rise of the West in World History 1500-1850 (2008). He serves as a consultant to the U.S. State Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Agency for International Development, on issues of revolution and state failure. He holds a B.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University.