Current Students

Riaz Akbar- Second Year

Education:

Political Science at Forman Christian College

Research Interests:

Democracy promotion and politics of South Asia and Middle East

Languages:

English, Urdu, Burushaski, Shina, Persian 

Lexi Merrick Boiro- ​ Second Year

Education:

B.A. Political Science and African Studies, Emory University 

Research Interests:

Citizen participation, civic education, public health, monitoring and evaluation, African politics, elections, human rights 

Languages:

English, French, Pulaar/Fula

Chris Comer- Second Year

Education:

Miami University, Political Science and Entrepreneurship

Research Interests:

Southeast Asia, Civic Education, Social Entrepreneurship

Languages:

English, Indonesian

Rick Freeman Ferreira- Second Year

Education: 

B.A. Political Science, University of Florida, Certificate of specialization in International Relations

Interests:

International Relations, Political Theory, Security, Sino-Russian Politics, Russo-Japanese Politics, Historical Evolution, Democratic Diffusion, Populism

Languages:

English, Spanish

Asma Ghribi- Second Year 

Education:

Faculté des Lettres, des Arts et des Humanités- Manouba University

Research Interests:

Democratic transitions, Human rights and religious freedom in the Middle East and North Africa region

Languages:

Arabic, French, English, Farsi 

Jiangqi “Sara” Guo- Second Year

Education:

University of Iowa, international relations and journalism

Research Interests: 

Disadvantaged groups, social welfare issues 

Languages:

Mandarin Chinese, English 

Matison Hearn-Desautels- First Year

Education:

B.A. in political science and international studies, Bryn Mawr College  

Research interests:

Middle East and African politics, states and human rights 

Languages:

English, French, Arabic

Joe Cho-Han Hsiung- First Year
 

Education:

National ChengChi University BA in Political Science

Research/Academic Interests:

East Asian politics, Cross-strait relation, Democratization, Political parties,  

Languages: 

Chinese, English, Japanese 

 Lama Al Jarallah- Second Year

Education: 

UC Santa Barbara

Research Interests: 

State-society relations, political development, and democratization in the Middle East, particularly the Gulf states

Languages:

Arabic, English, French

Han Wool Jung– Second Year

Education:

Penn State

Research Interests:

Effects of corruption on the process of international democracy, future of political relationships between Asia and the Western world 

Languages:

Korean, English, Indonesian

Grayson Lewis- Second Year

Education:

Virginia Tech, BA in Political Science, Certificate in History, Minor in War and Society

Interests:

US National Security Process, Conventional Interstate Warfare, Political Parties

Languages:

English, Latin

Ben Lynch- Second Year

Education: 

B.A. Philosophy, Political Science, with a  concentration in International Relations, Rice University

Interests:

Technology and Governance, Democratic Transitions, Post-Conflict and Failed States, Political Theory

Languages:

English, Spanish, Sesotho

Hashim Pasha- First Year

Education:

B.A. International Relations & Arabic, Tufts University

Research/ Academic Interests:

Negotiation, Anti-Corruption, Civil-Military Relations, Democratization, Civic Education

Languages:

Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Bahasa Malay

Abigail Parrish- Second Year

Education:

B.S. in Political Science and Cultural and Global Studies: Middle East and Islamic Studies, Central Michigan University 

Research Interests:

Democratization of the Middle East, Authoritarianism, Rule of Law, Elections, and Human Rights

Languages:

English and Spanish 

James Placius- First Year

Education:

Penn State University, B.A. In International Politics.

Research Interests:

International Security, U.S. foreign and defense policy, Democracy and Post-conflict reconstruction policies.

Languages:

French, English, Spanish and Haitian-Creole.
 

Avram Reisman- Second Year

Education: 

Colby College, Political philosophy

Research Interests:

Democratic stability, democracy as development, civil strife

Languages:

English, Spanish

Allison Schlossberg- Second Year

Education:

B.A. International Affairs from The George Washington University

Research Interests:

Corruption, Electoral Reform, Political Parties & Institutions, Latin America

Languages:

English, Spanish, Portuguese

Habiba Shebita– First year 

Education:

B.A. in Political Science and Middle Eastern Studies with a minor in International Relations, Rutgers University 

Research/Academic Interests:

Middle East, U.S. Foreign Policy, Transitional Governments, Democratization, and Human Rights 

Languages: 

English and Arabic 

Aleksandra Zaytseva- Second Year

Education:

B.A. History and Anthropology, Certificate in Russian and Eastern
European Studies, University of Pittsburgh

Research Interests:

Eurasian Politics, Post-Conflict Studies, International Development,
Democracy Assistance

Languages:

English, Russian, French