Bethany Barratt is Director of the Joseph Loundy Human Rights Project and Associate Professor of Political Science at Roosevelt University, Chicago, IL. Her previous appointments include the University of California, Davis (where she won the graduate teaching award in 2000) and San Quentin State Prison. At the University of California she earned her PhD in Political Science with concentrations in International Relations, Quantitative Methods (supplemented by training at the Interuniversity Consortium on Political and Social Research, University of Michigan) and American Politics, and, at the same time, a PhD certificate in Social Theory and Comparative History while serving on the editorial board of the critical social theory journal,Theory and Society. Her books cover topics as diverse as human rights under the war on terror (International Human Rights Since 9/11: A Sourcebook, Forthcoming), political themes in popular literature (The Politics of Harry Potter, 2012), public opinion and foreign policy (Public Opinion and International Intervention, 2012), and the role of human rights in foreign aid decisions (Human Rights and Foreign Aid: for Love or Money?, 2007). Her articles and essays have appeared in many leading outlets including Political Research Quarterly, The Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Perspectives on Politics, Public Opinion Pros, and several edited volumes and encyclopedias.

This political analysis of Harry Potter uses the beloved wizarding world to introduce readers to the equally murky and intimidating world of politics. Rowling's work provides us with entries into all of the most important political questions in history, from terrorism and human rights to the classic foundations of political thought.