Bernardo Sorj was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He is a naturalized Brazilian, living in Brazil since 1976. He studied anthropology and philosophy in Uruguay, and holds a B.A. and an M.A. in History and Sociology from Haifa University, Israel. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Manchester in England. Sorj was a professor at the Department of Political Science at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and at the Institute for International Relations, PUC/RJ. The author of 20 books and more than 100 articles, was visiting professor and chair at many European and North American universities, including the Chaire Sérgio Buarque of Hollanda, at the Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, and the Cátedra Simón Bolívar of the Institut des Hautes Études de l'Amérique Latine, in Paris. He is member of the board of several academic journals, advisor to scientific institutions and consultant to international organizations and governments. In 2005 was elected Man of Ideas of the Year. Currently he is professor of Sociology at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Director of the Edelstein Center for Social Research and of the Plataforma Democrática Project, and Coordinator of SciELO Latin American Social Sciences Journals English Edition.