Steven J. Brams, a social scientist and professor of politics at New York University, has authored or co-authored 14 books involving applications of game and social choice theories to international conflict, theology and politics. the potential applications of approval voting, a system allowing voters to vote for, or approve of, multiple candidates, is one focus of his work.

A commitment to conflict reconciliation prompted Brams, with Alan Taylor, to design a computer program that helps opposing parties in distributing disputed goods. Brams and Taylor authored The Win/Win Solution: Guaranteeing Fair Shares to Everybody. Their equal-distribution formula has been cited in Newsweek, The New York Times, Fortune, Scientific American, The Chronicle of Higher Education and The New Yorker.