In a recent conference at the University of South California, Professor Arman Grigoryan discussed why some former Soviet Republics were successful in their transition to democracy, while others were not. Specifically, why had the country of Armenia been unsuccessful in becoming a prosperous democratic state? “In the first half of the nineties, Armenia was often referred to in the Western media as an ‘island of democracy,’” said Grigoryan.
Current News
Lehigh International Relations Alum Victoria Herrmann ('12) recently reported that data from her research into the rapidly melting Arctic ice shelves was deleted by the Trump administration. The problems first began after January 21st when links regarding the U.S. Strategy for the Arctic were deleted, along with other Arctic-related policy links. As the Trump administration continued, more and more climate-change related sources were deleted, and eventually, the resources that Hermann used for her research began to disappear as well.
Professor Henri Barkey, of Lehigh University's International Relations Department, was among those accused of plotting a coup in Turkey in July 2016. Barkey, who was in Turkey for a conference at the time of the coup, was suspected of abetting FETO, the Turkish terrorist group allegedly responsible for attempting to overthrow the government.
