Because of the significance of Nigeria to the entire African continent, and because of growing concern that the United States had paid insufficient attention to the signs of growing tensions and instability within Nigeria on the lead-up to the 2007 national elections, a consortium of primarily Washingtonbased institutions (the Wilson Center, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Africa Program at John Hopkins’ School for Advanced and International Studies, and the Council on Foreign Relations) organized a series of programs designed to engage both Nigerian and American policymakers in an examination of “The Pending Nigerian Elections: A Step Toward Democratic Consolidation or Descent into Chaos?”

The Kennan Institute has selected Olga Litvin as the 2012-13 Robert H. Baraz Memorial Research Intern. The 2012-13 program year marks the 22nd year of the Kennan Institute’s Robert H. Baraz Memorial Research Internship Program. This program was established in 1991 in honor of the late Robert H. Baraz, longtime Director of the Office of Research and Analysis for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research of the U.S. Department of State. Each year, the Kennan Institute recognizes the Research Assistant who has provided the most outstanding level of service for the year.