American jobs and 401(k)s are not the only victims of the current financial crisis. The weakened economy threatens infrastructure and security across the globe, according to the current issue of the Cornell International Affairs Review (CIAR), which offers the Cornell community a resource and forum to read about these issues.

The latest issue includes "For Japan, Better Late than Never" by William Gerding '13 and Zach Montague '13 and "Putting the B in BRIC: Brazil's Rise as a Major Emerging Power" by Gabriel Rodrigues '12. The review opens with Washington University Law Professor Arthur E. Wilmarth Jr.'s "Why Financial Conglomerates are at the Center of the Financial Crisis" and other articles, written by two graduate students studying in Europe and by professors from Washington, D.C.; San Francisco; and St. Petersburg, Russia, who focus on the economies of France, Russia, Japan, Brazil and Uganda.

Undergraduates served as contributors and editors, said Maurice Chammah '10, CIAR managing editor. "We used the economy as a lens to fan out toward specific cases," he said.

In addition to the review, CIAR raises international relations awareness through speakers and panel discussions and offers international relations students a group to meet and engage with people of similar interests.

"The purpose of CIAR in general is to engage students in issues beyond Cornell's campus," said Mitchell Alva '10, CIAR president.

"We've really made an effort to get people across campus [involved], no matter your major, and people from different backgrounds to come together through the journal or through getting involved in the club," said Alyssa O'Connor '12, who serves as CIAR's secretary.

This year CIAR organized discussion panels on Mexican drug cartels, genocide in Sudan and conflicts in Iran. "It's difficult to ignore how direct an impact we feel panel discussion has had," said Rob Morrissey '12.

"Frequently, we find ourselves serving more of an adviser role to other student organizations on campus," Chammah commented on CIAR's collaboration on the Iran panel with Project NUR, a student group that promotes positive relations between Muslims and people of other faiths. "It's not just for our organization that we do it," he added. "It's for all undergraduates."

Sarah Palmer '10 is a writing intern at the Cornell Chronicle.