Asia

How to Fix Turkey’s Fall From International Favor

HUFFINGTON POST 03/12/15 By Michael Shank Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent attack on the West for “hate speech” and misattributing terrorism during the Paris attacks is ironic. Erdogan is erroneously doing both already: labeling the Gulen movement a terrorist organization and using hate speech to characterize it. In fact, […]

Why Hong Kong’s #OccupyCentral Used Nonviolent Action as Tactic

HUFFINGTON POST 09/30/14 By Michael Shank and Jamila Raqib The Occupy Movement has returned and is resurrecting itself in Hong Kong. But in this case, the “occupying” is not associating itself with the Occupy Wall Street of recent years. Instead, a new political initiative in Hong Kong – called Occupy […]

Don’t Let China Dominate

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 09/18/14 By Michael Shank, Elena Krieger and Julia Trezona Peek This month’s report on renewable energy markets from the International Energy Agency indicates that by 2020, China will account for almost 40 percent of the growth in renewable energy capacity. The United States, meanwhile, lags […]

Experts to Analyze Ukraine Crisis, Crimea Conflict

MASON NEWS 04/21/14 By Buzz McClain The drama of the conflict in Crimea comes to Arlington on April 23 when representatives from Ukraine and Russia share the stage during a program called “Beyond Crimea: The Evolution of the Crisis in Ukraine.” The April 23 forum will include — in addition […]

How to Resolve the Crisis in Ukraine

CDN 04/18/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, April 18, 2014 — The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) urges Congress, the Obama administration and policymakers throughout the European Union to adopt  policies toward the Ukraine crisis that deescalate the conflict while providing a constructive path forward. The diplomatic deal struck this […]

Ukraine Diplomatic Deal: Necessary Next Steps

HUFFINGTON POST 04/17/14 By Michael Shank The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) urges Congress, the Obama administration and policymakers throughout the European Union to adopt policies toward the Ukraine crisis that deescalate the conflict while providing a constructive path forward. The diplomatic deal struck this week by diplomats from […]

The Dangers of Soft Power

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 04/14/14 By Michael Shank The United States Department of Defense used it recently in Yemen and Pakistan. The U.S. State Department is using it right now in Afghanistan and Nigeria. The U.S. Agency for International Development used it in the last elections in Kenya. It’s […]

How to Defuse the Ukraine Crisis

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 03/31/14 By Michael Shank Returning in March from transatlantic dialogues in Poland and Germany in which I and other policy types from Washington discussed the situation in Ukraine and Crimea with our policymaking counterparts from Warsaw, Berlin and Kiev, there is little question that we […]