Jon Elster received his PhD from the University of Paris in 1972 and is Robert K. Merton Professor of Social Sciences at Columbia University in New York and also holds a professorship at the Collège de France in Paris. His research interests include the theory of rational choice, the theory of distributive justice and the history of social thought, including the writings of Marx and Tocqueville. He is currently working on a comparative study of constitution-making processes from the Federal Convention to the present, besides being engaged in a project on the microfoundations of civil war. Professor Elster's publications include Sour Grapes (1983), Making Sense of Marx (1985), Ulysses Unbound (2000) and Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective (2004).
To return to the video selection page please click here.