by Susan Griffith

Kathryn Lavelle, assistant professor of political science, will spend two months this summer as a visiting scholar at the Ralph Bunche Institute at the City University of New York, studying the changing nature of African diplomatic representation since the Cold War.

Lavelle said she plans to gather information provided by the United Nation's Non-Governmental Liaison Service "to develop a system of classification of non-governmental organizations (NGO) that have registered and participated in liaison activities since 1990 and that are active in the issue of African development."

She also will supplement this information with interviews at the African missions to the U.N. and the NGOs with offices in the New York and Washington, D.C., to determine the extent of NGO involvement in broader policy debates, as well as their connection to African civil society.

While in New York, Lavelle will present a paper at the annual meeting of the Academic Council on the United Nations System, June 12-14, at U.N. headquarters. At the annual meeting she will have the opportunity to hear from leading scholars addressing political issues pertaining to the U.N.

This summer's research expands and "completes a picture of African representation in international organizations that I commenced with my dissertation research," Lavelle said. Her dissertation examined the role of Africans in the UN Conference on Trade and Development in Geneva.

Lavelle said she plans to use this summer's research for a book that expands topics raised in her doctoral dissertation about African representation in international organizations. She said she hopes to complete the book during the next academic year.

Lavelle, who teaches classes on international relations and economy and is an adviser to the student Model U.N. club, said she has found that her students respond best to issue-areas where she had the most immediate experiences, such as UNCTAD and the World Trade Organization.

This summer's experience will broaden her knowledge on the UN and enhance activities and discussions in her classroom.

 

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