Brian Hanson
Associate Director, Buffett Center of International and Comparative Studies
Lecturer, Political Science
Hanson is the Associate Director of the Roberta Buffett Center for International and Comparative Studies & Lecturer in Political Science, Northwestern University. His research and teaching interests are in fields of international relations and comparative political economy. He teaches courses on international political economy, globalization, and the changing role of the state in world politics. His current research project is on the politics of trade liberalization in Europe. Hanson is the faculty advisor to nine undergraduate groups at Northwestern that are focused on world affairs. Related activities outside of academia include, serving as a director and vice chair for programming of the Stanley Foundation, which promotes multilateral approaches to international problems. Hanson is also active in international philanthropy as a board of the Chicago Global Donors Network and chair of its Program Committee, as an advisor to the Holthues Trust, which supports international development, human rights, and environmental projects, and as director of the TNH Foundation, which supports social justice and environmental projects. In addition, Hanson serves on the Board of GlobeMed, a national organization that seeks to build a new generation of leaders in global health by involving undergraduates in health projects in the developing world. Previously, Hanson has served as the foreign policy advisor to U.S. Senator Alan Dixon, government affair representative for John Deere & Company, and research analyst for the US Information Agency.