George Adelman is an MSc Student in International Relations at LSE, and works as a Programme Assistant on the LSE IDEAS Latin America International Affairs Programme. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Combined Social Sciences at the University of Durham, where he specialised in International Relations and Political Geography. His undergraduate dissertation focused upon the political dimensions of sociolinguistic contestation in a bilingual area. His current research interests lie in the Inter-American narcotics trade and the United States' "War on Drugs."
Kyle Hoback is pursing an MSc in the Analysis, Design, and Management of Information Systems. He works as a web developer at IDEAS as well as the Asia Research Centre. Kyle holds a graduate Diploma in Economics from the LSE and a BSc in Computer Science and Management Information Systems from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
Lesley James is a PhD student with the LSE International History Department and assists with events at LSE IDEAS. Her thesis is a biography of the Pan-Africanist, George Padmore, and looks in particular at communication lines within the African diaspora and the role of colonial (especially West African) newspapers in the anti-colonial movement. General research interests include African history, African diasporic history, anti-imperial movements, and migration. Recent conference papers include a paper for the ASEN Conference on Nationalism & Charisma, paper entitled "The Man Behind the Myth: George Padmore, Kwame Nkrumah, and the Creation of Ghana."
Eirini Karamouzi is a PhD candidate at the International History department and writes on the process of European integration in the 1970s. Eirini is a co-managing editor of the journal the Cold War History. Eirini holds a BSc in History from University of Athens and a MSc in European Politics and Governance from LSE.
Christian Kramer is the programme assistant for the LSE IDEAS Africa International Affairs Programme. He is currently a student of the PKU/LSE double MSc. in international affairs and has completed the first part of the degree at Peking University. Previous to this degree he has studied international relations and political science at Monash University in Melbourne and the University of Aberdeen and has focused on weak states, development and peace building, fair trade and the question of sustainability. Besides English, German and Spanish he is an intermediate speaker of Mandarin.
Hanna Näätänen is a PhD candidate in the Department of International Relations. Her research focuses on the European Neighbourhood Policy and the EU's impact on its Eastern neighbours. Hanna is co-managing editor of the journal Cold War History. She received a BA in European Studies and a MA in Peace and Development Studies from the University of Limerick.
Luca Tardelli is responsible for the co-ordination of events at IDEAS. Luca graduated in International Relations from the University of Bologna (Forli Campus). He holds a MA in War Studies from King's College London and has recently completed a MSc in International Relations at LSE. He starts a MPhil/PhD programme in International Relations at LSE in October 2009. Before joining IDEAS, he worked as an intern at the Middle East Division of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and as a research assistant at the University of Bologna, the NATO Parliamentary Assembly and jointly for the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and the Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). His research interests include International Relations Theory (Classical and Neoclassical Realism, alliance theory, political and historical sociology's contribution to IR) and strategic issues (NATO history and strategic debate, Middle Eastern security issues, and military interventions in civil conflicts and revolutionary contexts).
Wes Ullrich| is the programme assistant of the Cold War Studies programme. Before joining IDEAS, he taught courses on US Foreign Policy, The Russian Revolution, Western Public Policy, Comparative Government and US Constitutional Law at the secondary school level. He holds a MA in International History from the LSE and a BA (hons.) in history with a minor in International Studies from Queen's University (Canada). He is a PhD Candidate in the International History Department researching US foreign policy and regime change in the Soviet Union, 1953-1982.