Franklin B. Lebo, Esq. is currently a Graduate Assistant in the Ph.D. program concentrating in Transnational/Comparative Politics and Policy and Justice Studies.  He earned his J.D. from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law in 2003 with an International Law Concentration winning the Witkin and CALI Awards in Chinese Trade and Investment and the CALI Award in the American West: Law, Culture, and the Environment.  Franklin's research interests have centered around East Asia since his undergraduate studies at Brandeis University where, as a Presidential Scholar, he double majored in Politics and East Asian Studies graduating summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and Pi Sigma Alpha (the National Political Science Honor Society) receiving highest honors for a senior honors thesis on the Japanese bureaucratic system.  His graduate research explores the modern dynamics of Japan's political institutions along with matters pertaining to international peace and security.

Recent publications:

• Hook, Steven W. and Lebo, Franklin Barr. (forthcoming). "Global Development in Theory and Practice," in Robert A. Denemark (Ed.). The International Studies Compendium Project. Oxford, England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• Hook, Steven W. and Lebo, Franklin Barr.  2008. “Sino-American Trade Relations: Privatizing Foreign Policy,” in Ralph G. Carter (Ed.). Contemporary Cases in U.S. Foreign Policy: From Terrorism to Trade, 3rd Edition (Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Press).
• Lebo, Franklin B. "Honest Patriots: Loving a Country Enough to Remember its Misdeeds" (review).  Human Rights Quarterly - Volume 28, Number 2, May 2006, pp. 551-553. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

• From James v. Marinship to Williams v. International Brotherhood of Boilermakers: The Emergence of Pluralism in American Western Jurisprudence

• From Exclusion to Inclusion: The Evolution of the Chinese Experience in America from the 1840s to the 1940s

• "Understanding International Relations: World Atlas"  Course Title: World Politics (POL 10500). Regular instructor: Dr. Esook Yoon.  Lecture delivered on September 6, 2006 at Kent State University.

• "Democratization in East Asia."  Course Title: Asian Politics (POL 30530).  Regular instructor: Dr. Esook Yoon. Lecture delivered on March 9, 2006 at Kent State University.

Volunteer Activities:

Vice President of Writing and Critical Thinking
Executive Leadership Team
Minds Matter of Cleveland, OH, Inc.

Description: A multi-state, nonprofit organization devoted to helping academically motivated yet underserved teens gain acceptance into four-year universities and competitive academic summer programs.