European Union

The Big Problems in Obama’s Big Trade Deals

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 07/08/13 By Michael Shank Framed as the biggest trade deal in the history of the world, trade representatives from the United States and the European Union meet in Washington this week to begin transatlantic trade talks. This is one of two major trade deals on […]

The War on Coal

NATIONAL JOURNAL 07/08/13 By Michael Shank The so-called “war on coal” that Senate Joe Manchin (D-WV) claimed recently is real, in direct response to President Barack Obama’s climate change speech in Georgetown, gained new momentum last month in a World Bank memo that pledged fewer Bank-funded coal projects. Manchin, who […]

Iran’s Election Win Warrants US Sanctions Rethink

HUFFINGTON POST 06/17/13 By Michael Shank and Kate Gould Iran’s presidential elections offered a rare opportunity for the world’s media spotlight to shift from focusing on Iranian officials, donning white lab coats flanked by metallic centrifuges, to the Iranian people. Tens of millions of Iranians headed to the polls to […]

U.S. Sanctions On Iran Should Be Lifted For Humanitarian Goods

POLITIX 06/15/13 By Michael Shank and Kate Gould Iran’s presidential elections on Friday offered a rare opportunity for the world’s media spotlight to shift from focusing on Iranian officials, donning white lab coats flanked by metallic centrifuges, to the Iranian people. Tens of millions of Iranians headed to the polls, […]

What Trans-Pacific and U.S.-EU Trade Partnerships Must Tackle: Jobs

HUFFINGTON POST 06/13/13 By Michael Shank and Sabina Dewan A high-level panel appointed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon released its recommendations last month for a global development agenda when the Millennium Development Goals expire at the end of 2015 and when approximately one billion people will still […]

Not Just Any Jobs, But Just Jobs

THE HILL 06/12/13 By Michael Shank and Sabina Dewan Last week, a high-level panel appointed by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon released its recommendations for a global development agenda when the Millennium Development Goals expire at the end of 2015 and when approximately one billion people will still […]

Tackling the Most Grave and Serious Global Security Threats

AL JAZEERA 12/16/13 By Michael Shank The foreign policy docket of President Barack Obama’s second term seems to be giving short shrift to the security threats of the next four years. This is not merely because the US intelligence and defence agencies continue to be wracked with scandal, thanks to […]

Peace is Profitable: Time for the US to Invest

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR 07/11/11 By Michael Shank Looking to save the world trillions of dollars? How about investing in peace and nonviolence? Australia’s Institute for Economics and Peace recently released its 2011 Global Peace Index, citing a veritable “who’s who” of peaceful countries. It counted up the savings had the […]