Aries A. Arugay is an associate professor of political science at the University of the Philippines in Diliman. He is also a fellow of the Strategic Studies Program of its Center for Integrative and Development Studies. He has conducted research on comparative democratization, contentious politics, security sector reform, and international relations in the Asia-Pacific. Aries serves as Senior Editor of Asian Politics & Policy and Associate Editor of the Philippine Political Science Journal. Earlier this year, he was a Visiting Fellow at the National Institute of Defense Studies of the Japan Ministry of Defense. He obtained his PhD in Political Science from Georgia State University in Atlanta.