Dr. Cynthia Boaz is associate professor of political science at Sonoma State University, where her areas of expertise include quality of democracy, nonviolent struggle, civil resistance, and political communication and media. She is also a freelance analyst and consultant on nonviolent action. Boaz is Vice President of the Metta Center for Nonviolence and on the board of Project Censored and the Media Freedom Foundation. Dr. Boaz is also a contributing writer and adviser to Truthout, a contributor to Waging Nonviolence and a former associate editor of Peace and Change Journal.