Jeffrey A. Winters is a professor of political science at Northwestern University and director of the Equality Development and Globalization Studies program. He is known for his groundbreaking research on oligarchs and elites. He is the author of the influential book Oligarchy, which won the 2012 Luebbert Prize for the best book in comparative politics. His insights have been published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, and on NPR. His new book, The Blind Spot: How Oligarchs Dominate Our Democracies, was published in May 2026.