Europe

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 […]

Ukraine Crisis Underscores Need for Renewables Push

CNN 04/07/14 By Michael Shank and Former Congressman Russ Carnahan Editor’s note: Russ Carnahan was a U.S. Representative from Missouri and a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He is now a partner at Carnahan Global Consulting, a consultancy that also advises firms in the energy sector. Michael Shank […]

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 […]

Oil Is At The Heart Of The Ukraine Crisis

POLITIX 03/24/14 By Michael Shank For anyone questioning the fundamental energy and resource connection to most geopolitical struggles and conflicts, the West’s wrestle with Russia over Crimea is illustrative of merely the latest energy-related conflict in a long litany of ones. While perhaps not as dramatic as America’s removal 60 […]

Caustic Encounters: Western Demands on Putin Escalate Crimea Crisis

CDN 03/22/14 By Michael Shank WASHINGTON, March 22, 2014 — Returning home last week from Poland and Germany, as part of a United States and European Union transatlantic policymaker conversation on the crisis in Ukraine, Crimea and Russia, as well as other salient U.S.-E.U. issues like trade, climate change and […]

U.S.-E.U. Rhetoric on Russia as Destructive as a Chekhovian Duel

HUFFINGTON POST 03/22/14 By Michael Shank Returning home last week from Poland and Germany, as part of a United States and European Union transatlantic policymaker conversation on the crisis in Ukraine, Crimea and Russia, as well as other salient U.S.-E.U. issues like trade, climate change, and income inequality, I found […]

Bosnia Back on the Brink

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 03/17/14 By Michael Shank and Clint Holmes Ukraine would be wise to take a lesson from Bosnia’s economic and political turmoil. Post Arab-Spring, and now in Eastern Europe, we are witnessing the repercussions of societies that failed to deliver economic stability and growth for their […]

History Repeating Itself in Ukraine

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 03/07/13 By Michael Shank and Kimairis Toogood When it comes to the conflict in Ukraine, the Republic of Georgia must feel like history is close to repeating itself. Georgia lost 20 percent of its sovereign territory to de facto Russian control in 2008 and now […]

Time to Write the Rules for Cyber and Drone Challenges

CNN 02/03/14 By Michael Shank and Des Browne Editor’s note: Des Browne is the former U.K. Secretary of State for Defense. Michael Shank is the associate director for legislative affairs at the Friends Committee on National Legislation. The views expressed are their own. Iran has begun implementing the Joint Plan […]