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"Can Democracy Be Promoted?" Simmons College Hosts Feb. 26 Lecture

Pippa Norris of John F. Kennedy School of Government to Give Warburg Lecture

BOSTON (February 5, 2008) — A Harvard University political scientist will dissect a central theme in international development in her public lecture "Can Democracy Be Promoted?" Tues., Feb. 26 at 5:00 p.m. at Simmons College.

Pippa Norris, a political scientist and the McGuire Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, will speak in the Kotzen Meeting Room, Lefavour Hall, at Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, in Boston. A reception will immediately follow.

Norris's talk is part of the college's annual Warburg Lecture Series in International Relations. The reception and lecture are free and open to the public.

Norris, who served recently as the head of the Democratic Governance Group in the United Nations Development Program in New York, will discuss the challenges and opportunities that are faced by the international development community, domestic reformers, and U.S. foreign policymakers in promoting democracy, as well as the importance of power-sharing institutions.

In addition to drawing on her experience as head of the Democratic Governance Group, her talk will share material from her forthcoming book, "Driving Democracy: Do Power-sharing Institutions Work?" (Cambridge University Press, 2008) with draft chapters available at www.pippanorris.com.

Norris has published more than three dozen books, including "Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide" and "Radical Right: Voters and Parties in the Electoral Marketplace."

The Warburg lecture series was established at Simmons College in the early 1980s by Simmons College Emerita Trustee Joan Melber Warburg, a 1945 Simmons graduate. Each year, lecturers are chosen who have made significant contributions to important areas of international relations.

Due to construction, parking on Simmons's campus is limited.  For parking alternatives, please visit the college's website. Simmons College is a nationally recognized private university located in Boston. It includes an undergraduate college for women, and graduate programs for women and men in social work, health studies, library and information science, management, and liberal arts.