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With extensive media coverage of gruesome acts committed by ISIS, Al-Qaeda, Hezbollah, Jihadists, the Taliban and the Boko Haram, to name a few, many Americans wonder why Islam lends itself so readily to violent extremism. The same question has been recently raised on-campus by the Enquiry, a weekly opinion editorial sponsored by the Alexander Hamilton Institute, prompting the Muslim Students Association (MSA) and the Arabic and Middle East Club (AMEC) to invite a panel of experts to campus in an effort to deepen the community’s understanding of the connection, or lack thereof, between Islam and extremism.

Hamilton College will host a panel titled “Islam: A Religion of Extremism?” with a panel of experts, including former U.S. ambassadors and faculty with expertise in the Middle East, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 4:15 p.m., in the Chapel. The discussion is free and open to the public.

Ambassador Edward S. Walker Jr. ’62, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory, has returned to the Hill this semester to teach a course on Cultural Diplomacy: Tool of Diplomacy or Imperialism (Government 341.)

Edward “Ned” Walker ’62, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory and former ambassador to Egypt and Israel, discussed the election of the Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi as Egypt’s next president with host Candy Crowley on the June 24 broadcast of CNN’s State of the Union. The New York Times in a June 25 article titled “Egypt Results Leave White House Relieved but Watchful” included one of Walker’s comments from the CNN interview.

 “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.

Walter L. Cronkite IV ’11 is among students in a government class being taught this semester at Hamilton by Edward S. Walker Jr. ’62, the former United States Ambassador to Egypt, Israel, and the UAE. Here he describes how Walker has used the current crisis in Egypt to teach the class about diplomacy.   Participating in an intimate, upper-level seminar about diplomacy taught by a renowned and accomplished ambassador has been a once in a lifetime opportunity for 22 students in Edward S. Walker Jr.’s ’62 government class. It has been especially fortuitous that this Egyptian crisis, which might turn out to change the entire face of the Middle-East, occurred while we are under his tutelage.

CNN’s State of the Union program will again feature Ambassador Edward Walker ’62, the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory, on Sunday, Feb. 13, for the third consecutive week for a discussion of the situation in Egypt with CNN’s Candy Crowley and former U.N. Ambassador John Negroponte. Richard Bernstein ’80, Richard Bernstein, CEO and chief investment officer of Richard Bernstein Advisors, on Friday, February 11, and Walker will also be interviewed on Friday, Feb. 11, by Chris Matthews on MSNBC’s Hardball at 7 p.m.

Edward S. Walker Jr. '62, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Israel and the United Arab Emirates and the Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory, has spent many hours in the last few days with the national and international media sharing his insights on the continuing protests in Egypt. Beginning with an interview on National Public Radio’s Morning Edition on Jan. 28, Walker has spoken with print, radio and TV reporters on the situation.

The spring 2010 edition of Insights, the journal that features the best of undergraduate social science research papers at Hamilton, has been published by the Levitt Center. Edited and refereed by students and Associate Professor of Government P. Gary Wyckoff, Insights features articles by J. Max Currier '10, Lauren Howe '13, Richard Maass '12 and Julie Melowsky '11.

Hamilton College will host a panel discussion, “The Way Forward in Afghanistan,” on Monday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m., in the Kirner-Johnson Auditorium. Panelists will include former U.S. Ambassador and Christian A. Johnson Distinguished Professor of Global Political Theory Ned Walker ’62, First Lieutenant Matthew Zeller ‘04, and Hamilton student Max Currier ‘10. The discussion is free and open to the public.