Associate Professor of Government Stephen Orvis will participate in a U.S. State Department seminar to brief the new U.S. Ambassador to Kenya William M. Bellamy on May 29. Orvis, whose expertise is in emerging democracies, will discuss "The Role of Civil Society in the Liberalization Process."
Bellamy, who is currently principal deputy assistant secretary for the Bureau of African Affairs at the U. S. Department of State, will replace outgoing ambassador Johnnie Carson.
Others participating in the day-long seminar, organized by the Meridian International Center for the State Department, include David Throup, Center for Strategic and International Studies, Steven Ndegwa, World Bank and John K. Wa'Njogu, Yale University.
Orvis, who earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studies comparative politics, with an emphasis on Africa. His book, Studies in Comparative International Development, assesses possibilities in reconstructing and securing war-torn nations. Orvis served as an international election observer in Kenya's transitional elections to democratic rule.
