Alan Cafruny, the Henry Bristol Professor of International Affairs,  gave a lecture at the Department of European and International Studies at Kings College, University of London, on Oct. 18.  His talk was titled "The Global Financial Crisis and the 2012 Elections."

Students in the Semester in Washington Program met with U.S. Representative Richard Hanna of New York’s 24th District on Oct. 12. Rep. Hanna fielded a variety of questions from the group about his experiences as a new member of the House of Representatives and about the issues confronting the 112th Congress.

Marc Elias '90, firmwide chair of political law at the Washington, D.C., firm Perkins Coie LLP, will present a lecture titled “Money, Politics, and the 2012 Election,” on Sunday, Oct. 2, at 7:30 p.m., in the Bradford Auditorium, KJ. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Associate Dean of Students for Off-Campus Study Carol Drogus and Professor of Government Stephen Orvis published the 2nd edition of their textbook Introducing Comparative Politics: Concepts and Cases in Context with CQ Press (a division of Sage), Washington, D.C.

African asylum-seekers and refugees who go to Israel are frequently either turned away or face very difficult conditions. Henry Anreder '12, a recipient of a Levitt Research Fellowship Grant, is exploring the issues surrounding African refugees in Israel for his project with Professor of Government Steve Orvis.

Fifteen years after the end of a brutal war, Bosnia and Herzegovina is still struggling to reach autonomous statehood. For Bosnian natives, the process can inspire a range of feelings and attitudes. Jasmina Hodzic ’13, a 2011 Levitt Summer Grant Recipient, will explore Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress toward democracy and possible routes for getting there. She is being guided in her research by Alan Cafruny, the  Henry Bristol Professor of International Affairs.

 “When you are totally dependent on local intelligence organizations, you tend to protect them,” said Ned Walker, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel. Walker was quoted in a June 12 Newsweek  article titled “Intelligence Test” that also appeared on The Daily Beast website. The article detailed the challenges currently being experienced by U.S. intelligence networks due to the upheaval in the Middle East.

Over the course of Reunions ’11 Weekend, speakers at 30 Alumni College events informed the more than 1,000 returning alumni and guests on a wide variety of topics, ranging from urban redevelopment to food allergies to healthcare to sustainable investments. Here are brief reports on six of those sessions.

Associate Professor of Government Robert Martin was an invited presenter at the American Democracy Forum Conference held May 25, at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. He presented a paper titled “Reigning in Democracy: James Madison from the National Gazette Essays to the Virginia Report.”

A new national survey of Americans’ attitudes on immigration, race, ethnicity and religion shows a large majority of Americans (60%) support allowing legal immigrants to vote in local elections, with the strongest support coming from young Americans and opposed only by a majority of those over age 60. The poll, funded by Hamilton's Arthur Levitt Public Affairs Center, found that almost half of all young people feel the government should focus more on integrating illegal immigrants into American society.