A specialist on business-government relations, global production, labor, international debates on human rights, and the role of international agencies, Winters has conducted research in Vietnam, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia, which he has been researching since 1985. Winters has been a recipient of grants from the National Science Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, and the J.M. Kaplan Fund. In addition to having taught at Yale University and the University of Michigan, Winters lectures widely in Asia, Europe, and the United States. He earned his Ph.D. from Yale University.