Alejandro Avenburg
E-mail: avenburg@bu.edu
Office: PLS 210
Alejandro Avenburg received his B.A. in Political Science from the University of Buenos Aires in 2003. In 2009 he completed his dissertation for the Master in International Relations at Flacso- San Andres University. Alejandro’s areas of interest are International Relations, Comparative Politics and Latin American Politics.

Michal Biletzki
E-mail: biletzki@bu.edu
Office: PLS 203
Michal Biletzki received her BA in Political Science from Tel Aviv University in 2004. She also attended the Program for Mediation and Conflict Resolution and received a post-graduate certificate and a Certified Mediator diploma from Tel Aviv University. Michal is interested in political theory with a focus on the Israeli context. Michal Completed her qualifying exams in Feb. 2008 and defended her dissertation proposal in Jan. 2009. During Fall 2009 Michal will be a TF for PO271 and a co-instructor for "Introduction to Political Science" at CELOP. 

Deniz Bulut
E-mail: bulutd@bu.edu
Office: PLS 210
Deniz has received her B.A. in Political science and public administration from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. She has worked as a teaching fellow for various political science, international relations and political thought courses. Her research interest includes contemporary political theory, Turkish politics and politics of European Union.

She has recently passed her qualifying examinations and is currently working on her dissertation proposal.

Jose Campanella
E-mail: jgcampanella@msn.com
Jose Campanella received his MA in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and has a law degree from Universidad Catolica Andres Bello (Caracas, Venezuela). He has served as the chief legal advisor in the Central Information Office of the Venezuelan Presidency. Jose plans to focus on the institutional factors that contribute to poverty and inequality in Latin America, with a particular focus on his native Venezuela.

He passed his qualifying examinations in February 2004 and defended his dissertation proposal in December 2005. Jose entered the program in Fall 2001.

Guillermo Cejudo Ramirez
E-mail: gmcejudo@bu.edu
Guillermo Cejudo Ramirez received his BA in Public Administration at El Colegio de Mexico in 2000 and his MA in Public Sector Management at the London School of Economics in 2001, with a distinction. His main research interest is public sector reform. Guillermo is the recipient of a Fulbright scholarship and a Deans Award from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

He passed his qualifying examinations in April 2005, and is currently working on his dissertation on democratization and public sector change.

Chien-Kai Chen received his BA in political science from National Taiwan University in 2003 and his MA in political science from the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, in 2007. He entered the program in Fall 2007 and passed the PhD qualifying exams in Spring 2009. He is interested in both International Relations and Comparative Politics, especially putting his focus on the international relations as well as the political and economic development in East Asia. He is currently doing research on the China-Taiwan relations, the growing economic ties between China and Taiwan, and Taiwan’s democratization.

Ian Chinich received his BA in Political Science and History from Rutgers University in 2007.  He has spent time traveling through the Balkans, Africa and the Middle East to work with various NGOs and activist organizations.  Ian was accepted into the PHD program in the fall of 2009.  His interests include comparative politics and theoretical approaches towards a one state solution for Israel/Palestine.

David Collier
E-mail: dcollier@bu.edu
Office: PLS 311D
David Collier received his BA and MA in Politics and History from the University of Glasgow in 2002. He has worked as a Research and Information Officer at the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh library and as a research assistant at the Centre for the Study of Islam at the University of Glasgow. David is interested in comparative politics with a focus on Islam and in particular the politics and history of Iran.

David will be a teaching fellow for PO 271, Introduction to International Relations, in Fall 2006 and Spring 2007. He entered the program in Fall 2004.

Ashraf El Sherif
E-mail: elsherif@bu.edu
Office: PLS 209
Ashraf El Sherif received his MA in Political Science from the American University in Cairo in 2003 and his BA in Political Science and Economics from the American University in Cairo in 2000. He is interested in Comparative Politics with a specific focus on the Middle East and comparative political development.

Ashraf will be a teaching fellow for PO 251, Introduction to Comparative Politics, in Fall 2006. He passed his qualifying exams in October 2005 and defended his proposal in May 2006. Ashraf entered the program in Fall 2003.

Michael Field
E-mail: mfield@bu.edu
Michael Field received his BS in Aerospace Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis and the Licence es Sciences Politiques (Etudes Internationales) from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, Geneva, Switzerland. He entered the program in 1994 and passed his qualifying examinations in October 2000.

Michael defended his dissertation proposal on pacifism and non-violence in international political theory in October 2002 and is working as Assistant Provost at Boston University while he conducts his dissertation research.

FU En-Ping
E-mail: fuenping@bu.edu
Considering himself a perpetual student of modern world history, FU En-Ping entered the program in 2008, carrying with him special interests in international relations and comparative patterns of modernization/development with a regional focus on the Asia-Pacific.

Before coming to Boston, En-Ping took an internship at the United Nations in the capacity of adviser to the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Nauru, while working towards his M.A. in East Asian Studies at St. John's University in New York. He received his B.A. from Fu Jen University in his native country, Taiwan, majoring in Japanese language and literature.

He is determined to dedicate his future career to international education and the promotion of cross-national understanding.

Deniz Gungen
E-mail: deniz@bu.edu
Office: PLS 313D
Deniz Gungen received his MA in Global Finance Trade and Economy from the University of Denver in 1999 and his BA in International Relations from Bilkent University in 1997. He is interested in informal economy and its effects on international relations in the Middle East.

Deniz passed his qualifying exams in April 2006 and will be a teaching fellow for PO 101, Introduction to Political Science, in Fall 2006. He entered the program in Fall 2004.

Anshul Jain
E-mail: ajain2@bu.edu
Anshul Jain graduated from Duke University in 2002, earning a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Security Studies.  After graduating from Duke he moved to Boston and eventually became an educator.  Most recently, he worked with the Boston Public Schools, where he taught history, civics and literature at Greater Egleston High School in Roxbury, MA.  Anshul is a Boston University Presidential Fellow and entered the University in the Fall of 2008.  His interests are currently divided between International Relations and American Politics. 

Ippei Kamae received his B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, in 2002 and 2004 respectively. From 2001 to 2004 Ippei served as an intern in the office of Mr. Shinzo Abe, current Prime Minister of Japan and Member of the Japanese House of Representatives. He also worked as an assistant researcher, from 2002 to 2004, in the social science division of the Japan’s Independent Institute Co., Ltd., a Tokyo-based think tank that advises Japanese ministries, agencies, and private firms on national security, regional analyses, and civil defense issues.

Ippei entered the Ph.D. program at Boston University in September 2004 and completed his coursework as a fellow of the Japan Student Service Organization (JASSO, former Japan Scholarship Foundation) with the Outstanding Scholarly Achievement Grant from 2004 until 2007.

BeckHing Lee received his MBA, MA and BA in a number of majors including Political Science from the University of Massachusetts Boston. His major field in the doctoral program here is International Relations and his interest is in the Southeast Asian region.

Hope Lozano-Bielat received a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Her current graduate work is focused on women's rights, religious freedom, and democratization in post-Communist Eastern Europe. She has co-authored and contributed to publications on religion, gender and public policy through the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. In her spare time, Hope is writing a book on the gender specific consequences of the economic recession in the U.S. 

Catherine Long
E-mail: catlong@bu.edu
Catherine completed her MPH from Boston University in International Public Health with a focus on Pharmaceutical Policy in May, 2007. Her regions of specialization are Eastern Africa, Southern Africa, and South Asia. She completed African Studies Certification in May 2007. Catherine holds a BA from Purdue University in Political Science and History. She also holds an MA from Chicago in Political Science with specialization in International Political Economy and African Studies. Catherine has work experience with a US Representative and the Woodrow Wilson Institute as well as AIDS NGOs in Tanzania and India. As a PhD candidate, she served as a United States Title VI FLAS Fellow and lectured the PO and writing courses Introduction to American Politics, US-African Trade Relations, and Governing Nuclear Technology. Catherine’s current dissertation research examines inter-governmental relations and policy coalitions associated with Indian transnational pharmaceutical innovation networks. Catherine is currently serving as a CDC/ASPH International Health Fellow managing PEPFAR health policy with the CDC in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Laura Lucas has presented several papers to the annual meetings of the American Political Science Association and the Midwest Political Science Association (most recently in 2008), including "The Institutional Determinants of Political Sophistication" and "The Political Independent: Cross-Pressures and the Rejection of Party Identification," the latter co-authored with Cheng-Shan Liu. She serves as the Director of Research and Training for the International Consortium for Law and Development; in this capacity she has consulted with legislation drafters and other ministry officials in several countries. She has conducted public administration research with H. George Frederickson (2002-2005). She has also worked with the Center for Russian and East European Studies and on an NSF study of citizen-official interactions. Laura holds an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Kansas, and B.A. degrees in History, English, and Education. She also studied in the EITM Institute at Washington University in St. Louis.

Her research interests include institutional effects on political behavior and representation, the relationships between governmental institutions and citizens, and the role of law in development. She is currently studying the comparative effects of legislation drafting institutions on participation and policy outcomes, and conducting a study of citizen participation mechanisms in Greater Boston.

Andreea graduated in 2004 with a major in Political Science and a minor in Sociology from The National School of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest. During college she studied one year with an Erasmus scholarship at the University of Trieste. In 2005, she received her M.A. in Political Science and a Certificate in Political Communication from Central European University, Budapest. Her M.A. thesis, “The Media Coverage of the Romanian Revolution” was published in 2006.

In June 2007, she participated in The Viadrina Summer University: “Religion and Modernity Societal Determination and its Cultural Potential”. The intensive three week program brought together leading researchers from different areas to explore the role of religion in modern societies. In July 2007, she took part in Greece in the Olympia Summer Seminar: “The Challenges of International Media Technology and Policy” organized by the Kokkalis Foundation and the Duke University’s DeWitt Wallace Center for Communications and Journalism. In July 2008, Andreea was one of the participants in Bremen University’s Changing Europe Summer School: Central and Eastern Europe in a Globalized World.

Andreea's major field of study is Comparative Politics with a special interest in the post-communist transitions of Eastern Europe. Since 2006, she was a teaching fellow for: PO 101 Introduction to Political Science, PO 271 Introduction to International Relations, PO 241 Introduction to Public Policy and PO 251 Introduction to Comparative Politics.

She passed her comprehensive examinations in April 2008 and defended her dissertation prospectus in May 2009. Currently, she is a fourth year PhD candidate and a Junior Visiting Fellow at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna.

Grant Marlier
E-mail: gmarlier@bu.edu
Grant Marlier obtained his BA in Political Science, with a focus in International Relations, from Ohio State University in 2007.  While at Ohio State, Grant published a paper entitled “Insecurity, Scarcity, and Violence,” in The Journal of Politics & International Affairs.  The paper dealt with his primary interests: resource security, scarcity, and social constructs.  Grant is also interested in environmental issues and international security. 

Grant is also graduate fellow at The Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.  He is currently working on a paper for the Pardee Center entitled “The Globalization of Higher Education,” and another paper dealing with water security. 

Masse Ndiaye
E-mail: mndiaye@bu.edu
Office: PLS 213
Masse Ndiaye received his MA in Political Science from Northern Illinois University in 2002, an MA (1998) and a BA (1997) in English African Studies from Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar. He entered the program in Fall 2002.

Masse was awarded fellowships from the African Studies Center for three years and will be a Graduate Writing Fellow in Fall 2007. He passed his qualifying examinations in February 2004 and defended his dissertation proposal on Global Governance and Failed State Reconstruction in Africa in March 2005.

Erzen Oncel
E-mail: erzeno@bu.edu
Erzen Oncel double majored in History and Political Science at Bogazici University and graduated in 2003. She is interested in comparative analysis of educational policies of Middle Eastern countries and aspires to obtain a research related job in a think tank after earning her Ph.D.

She was a teaching fellow for PO 271, Introduction to International Relations, and for PO 241, Introduction to Public Policy. She completed her coursework. She will teach "State and Society in the Middle East"  course in University of Mississippi in Fall 2007.

Aparna Pande
E-mail: apande@bu.edu
Aparna Pande received an MA in International Relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (New Delhi) in 1999, an MA in History from St. Stephens College, Delhi University in 1995 and her BA( Hon) in History from St. Stephens College in 1993. Aparna worked with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for 5 years before returning to academics.

Her major field of study is International Relations with a special interest in foreign policy, security studies, religion in politics and Political Islam. Aparna writes a bi-monthly piece in online newspapers like ‘IndoLink’ and ‘Chowk.’

Aparna has been teaching a course on International Business (IM 345) at Boston University’s School of Management since Fall 2004. Aparna also taught an introductory course on Political Science (PO 101). For the last two years Aparna has taught a course on South Asian politics at Tufts University (Introduction to South Asian Politics; Pakistan-Afghanistan and the Taliban). In Fall 2007 Aparna taught a course on ‘Intercultural Communications’ (IR 531) at the International Relations Department of Boston University. In Fall 2008 Aparna will be teaching a course on India – Emerging India (IR 506) in the International Relations Department.

Aparna passed her qualifying examination in February 2006, submitted her dissertation proposal in March 2007 and is currently writing her dissertation on Pakistan’s Foreign Policy.

June Park
E-mail: junepark@bu.edu
June Park is currently a Fulbright Fellow and Ph.D Candidate in International Relations and International Political Economy. She obtained her B.A. and M.A. in Political Science from Korea University with a concentration in international security and has worked for the United Nations Department of Political Affairs Security Council Sanctions Subsidiary Organs Branch and the Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific. Her research centers primarily on the roles of states and international institutions in the regional political economy of Northeast Asia. Her Ph.D prospectus, titled, 'Unraveling the Roots of Stagnated Regionalism: The Impact of U.S.- China Trade Imbalance on Economic and Financial Security in East Asia', is on respective government policies and legalism regarding regional trade, finance, and economic stability in East Asia since the Asian Financial Crisis. She was a grader for 'Southeast Asia in World Politics' (IR 369) at the Department of International Relations at Boston University (Spring 2009). She will be teaching Government 261'Theory and Practice of International Relations' at the Department of Government at Suffolk University (Fall 2009), while also working as a will be a grader for IR365/PO374: Rise of China. (Fall 2009). She entered the program in 2007.

Leslie Sale
E-mail: salelm@bu.edu
Leslie Sale graduated magna cum laude from James Madison University in May 2009 with a BA in International Affairs.  In her senior year, Leslie was chosen to represent JMU at SCUSA, the Student Conference of US Affairs in West Point, NY. Before joining the PhD program at Boston University this fall, Leslie volunteered at a lion conservatory in Livingstone, Zambia. This trip also gave her the opportunity to spend time in other countries in Southern Africa, including Botswana and South Africa.

Leslie’s research interests include comparative politics, and international relations with a regional focus in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Adam Silver
E-mail: asilver@bu.edu
Adam Silver received his MA in 1996 and his BA in 1995 in History from SUNY Albany. He entered the program in Fall 2000. His main interests are Political Theory and American Politics.

Adam passed his qualifying examinations in October 2002 and 7 won the Teaching Fellow Award in 2003. He defended his dissertation proposal on regional diversity in the two-party system in 19th century America in October in May 2003. Adam conducted dissertation research on state-level party platforms from the 19th century last year.

Kristin Sippl
E-mail: ksippl@bu.edu
Kristin Sippl received her BA in Political Science from Northwestern University in 2007. Her focus is in the security studies realm of international relations, and she is interested in 21st century threats to security, the human security discourse, and humanitarian intervention.

Kristin will be a Teaching Fellow for IR/PO 271, Introduction to International Relations, during the Fall 2009 and Spring 2010 semesters.

Ahmet Selim Tekelioglu received his MA and BA in International Relations from the Middle East Technical University, in Ankara. Ahmet Selim has been a research assistant with the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), an Ankara based think-tank since 2005.  His doctoral research focuses on post- structural International Relations Theory, Middle East politics and the role of ethnic/ religious identities in international politics. Ahmet Selim was a teaching fellow for PO 271, Introduction to International Relations in Fall 2008. He will be joining the Institute of Human Sciences in Vienna as a junior visiting fellow during Spring 2010. He entered the program in 2007.

Abram Trosky
E-mail: atrosky@bu.edu
Office: PLS 305
The recipient of Boston University's highest academic scholarship, The Presidential University Graduate Fellowship, Abram Trosky has served as Teaching Fellow for nearly all the department's introductory courses and was last year recognized with the annual teaching fellow award. Currently, he TF’s for HI/PO 366, History of American Foreign Relations.

Abram has taught and guest lectured in Political Theory and in the Psychology Department, where he works with the Group of International Perspective on Governmental Violence And Peace (GIPGAP).

Abram passed his qualifying examinations in February 2008, after which he assumed a junior fellowship at the Institute for Human Sciences in Vienna. A former junior fellow of the English-Speaking Union, he has studied religion and politics in England and Political Sociology/ Anthropology at the University of Melbourne under the auspices of The Ashworth Centre for Social Theory. His current work focuses on the matrices of international ethics, political economy, and ecology.

Alex Whalen
E-mail: awhalen@bu.edu
Office: PLS 209
Website: http://blog.alexwhalen.com
Alex Whalen received his BA in Government from the University of Virginia in 1993. After graduation he worked at a series of odd jobs - including pizza delivery - until he eventually landed a content development position at pre-Internet boom America Online. After building the service's small business channel up from scratch, eventually turning it into into the WorkPlace Channel on the front page, he was laid off, a casualty of the Netscape acquisition. Determined never to set foot in a cubicle again, he moved on to pursue a career in the music industry. For the next five years, music website and retail shop owned by two Grammy Award winning producers, landed regular DJing gigs at some of North America's biggest clubs, and launched several world tours in support of his music. Eventually, however, he decided to return to his first love - politics - and pursue a PhD in Political Science here at Boston University. Alex's area of interest is American Politics, and he expects at some point in the not too far distant future to complete a dissertation examining how systemic media change has driven systemic political change throughout American political history.

Alex will be a teaching fellow in PO 211, Introduction to American Politics, in Fall 2009 and in PO 300 in Spring 2010. Alex entered the program in Fall 2004.

Megan Winderbaum
E-mail: megmay@bu.edu
Megan Maynard Winderbaum received her BA in Political Science from Virginia Wesleyan College in 2001. She entered the program in Fall 2002 and passed her qualifying examinations in April 2005.

Megan has served as a Teaching Fellow for PO 101, PO 211, PO 241, and PO 291.  She has graded for PO 241, PO 320, PO 366, and PO 548. She has taught PO 320, Social Justice. 

Megan also serves the Department as the Undergraduate Advisor.  She is working on her dissertation proposal, to study recidivism rates among inmates after specific treatment programs. 

Joshua Corie Yesnowitz
E-mail: jcyesnow@bu.edu
Office: PLS 312
Joshua Corie Yesnowitz received his MA in Political Science from Boston College in 2003 and his BA in Government and American Studies from Skidmore College in 2001. He passed his Ph.D. qualifying examinations in October 2005 and has recently taught PO 318, United States Political Parties and PO 324, Media and Politics in the United States for the department.

While serving as a Graduate Writing Fellow and teaching a writing seminar on American foreign relations, Joshua is preparing to defend his dissertation proposal in Fall 2006.

Yurim Yi
E-mail: yryi@bu.edu

Yurim Yi received her MA (Political Science, 2003) and BA (English Language & Literature/ French Language & Literature, 2001) from Yonsei University, South Korea.  During her MA study, she received Brain Korea 21 scholarship from Korean government. She had finished her salaried internship for the North American Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Korea in 2005.  She had published three articles: “How to Negotiate with North Korea,” Asian Politics and Policy, Vol. 1, No. 3 (July/September 2009), “Security Dilemma & Signals Revolving Around the North Korean Nuclear Standoff”, with Yongho Kim, Asian Perspective, Vol.29, No.3 (Fall 2005) and “Offense-Defense Balance & Perception: On the Case of North Korean Nuclear Crises,” Korean Political Science Review, Vol. 38, No.1 (Spring 2004). She is interested in the negotiation strategies that will induce cooperation among nations in conflicts.

Moeed Yusuf
E-mail: moeed@bu.edu
Moeed Yusuf received a Master of Arts in International Relations from
Boston University (2003) and a Bachelor of Business Administration (with an Economics Concentration) from Shorter College USA (2002).
He was most recently a Special Guest Scholar in Foreign Policy Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington DC, USA. He is concurrently, Research Fellow and Director of Strategic Studies at Strategic and Economic Policy Research, Pakistan. Previously, he has worked as a Consultant on economic policy at the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), Islamabad, Pakistan and is now a Visiting Associate at the Institute.

He has recently also worked with Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Innovative Development Strategies, UNESCO, and Pugwash International as an independent consultant. He has also taught at the Department of Defence and Strategic Studies at Quaid-e-Azam University as a member of the visiting faculty. He is a member of the panel of instructors for Pakistan's Military Staff College and has lectured NATO military and legal advisors at the Center of Defense
Against Terrorism in Turkey.

His area of expertise is South Asian strategic and political economy
concerns. He has been closely linked with Pakistani policy making and his advice is regularly solicited by Pakistan's decision making enclave. He writes a weekly column in The Friday Times, Pakistan- the country's leading English weekly. He is currently engaged in compiling a book on Pakistan's institutional functioning and decision making in the foreign policy ambit.