Peter Lorentzen is an assistant professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley. His primary areas of research are the political economy of authoritarianism and economic development, with a regional focus on Chinese politics and a methodological specialty in the application of game theory. He received his PhD in economic analysis and policy from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and his BA in Asian studies from Dartmouth College.

His current research concerns the informational problems faced by China's authoritarian leadership in managing a large, diverse, and decentralized political economy in the midst of a major economic transformation, analyzing the trade-offs that often arise between the goals of political stability and the effective monitoring of local officials and evaluating policy effectiveness. Aspects of his research address popular protests, media freedom, and political dissent.