Associate Professor
Northwestern University (Economics), 1992

Homepage

Office: 3276 Bunche Hall
Phone: (310) 991-3432
Fax: (310) 825-0778
E-mail: michael@chwe.net

Mailing Address:
UCLA Department of Political Science
4289 Bunche Hall
Box 951472
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1472

Curriculum Vitae

Class Websites

Field:

Methodology and Race, Ethnicity and Politics

Research Interests:

Notes:
Professor Chwe (pronounced like "chess" without the "ss") studies how people coordinate their actions when each person wants to participate only if enough others do. He finds that, while coordination sometimes occurs through evolution or adaptation, more often it is the result of explicit communication. Professor Chwe's recent papers, including "Communication and Coordination in Social Networks," "Structure and Strategy in Collective Action" and "Strategic Reliability of Communication Networks," investigate how communication networks can resolve coordination problems. His new book, Rational Ritual: Culture, Coordination, and Common Knowledge (Princeton, 2001), interprets cultural rituals as sources of common knowledge formation. Other areas of interest include jury decision making and television advertising. Professor Chwe has served on the faculty of the University of Chicago and New York University. He teaches courses on game theory for graduates and undergraduates.

Selected Publications: