IR Students Meet With Former US Congressmen
Nigarhan Gürpınar (IR/MA)
The students of the Department of International Relations had the chance to meet with four former members of the United States Congress, Representatives Ben Chandler (Democrat, Kentucky), Lincoln Davis (Democrat, Tennessee), Martin Lancaster (Democrat, North Carolina) and Jim Kolbe (Republican, Arizona) in a panel discussion chaired by Prof. Michael Cain (St. Mary's College of Maryland) at Bilkent University on Wednesday, April 10 as part of the "Congress to Campus" program.
Within the framework of the program, members of the US Association of Former Members of Congress visit university campuses in the US and abroad. During these visits, bipartisan groups of three to five members hold forums and meet with students and faculty, offering an insider's perspective on the workings of American government and politics.
After a brief introduction, the former members of Congress had an interactive panel discussion with a group of IR students from the BA, MA and PhD programs. During the discussion, the former Congressmen and students exchanged opinions about Turkey-US relations, the US constitution, the development of the Turkish constitution, America's stance on the civil war in Syria and Turkey-EU relations.