International Analysis

How Germans Go Green

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 12/09/14 By Michael Shank and Johann Saathoff With the German government’s reaffirmation this month of carbon emissions reduction goals of 40 percent by 2020, and its courageous commitment to phase out coal, the country is now leading the world with an aggressive and unparalleled climate […]

Yemen’s a Model All Right—For Disaster

DAILY BEAST 11/13/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Guns, drones, and special forces were not enough to stabilize Yemen, and they won’t be enough to stop ISIS. Remember the so-called “Yemen model,” the seeming success story for a U.S. policy targeting terrorists that President Barack Obama pointed to a […]

Breakdown in Yemen

US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 11/06/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Yemen is teetering on the verge of an all-out sectarian civil war. Recent peace deals may prove to be fleeting. The Houthis, a Zaydi-Shiite group based in northern Yemen, stormed the capital, Sanaa, over one month ago, resulting […]

Iraq’s Islamic Divisions Intensify

GLOBAL BRIEFING October 2014 By Michael Shank The USA’s air strikes on ISIS positions could inadvertently exacerbate Iraq’s problems, given the recent history of the West’s interventions in the country Iraq continues to pose a conundrum for the international community. Many in the West feel that Iraq is perpetually ungovernable […]

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 […]

Rethink America’s Yemen Policy, Set New Standard for Syria, Iraq

HUFFINGTON POST 09/29/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Authors Michael Shank and Casey Harrity published a policy brief this month as part of FCNL’s “Shared Security” series. For the full 20-page “Security in Yemen” report, click here. Below is the executive summary excerpted from the report. Yemen is on […]

Yemen is on the Brink of Chaos – And Why It’s So Important

POLITIX 09/27/14 By Michael Shank and Casey Harrity Yemen is on the brink of slipping back into chaos. Outcomes from the National Dialogue Conference, which concluded in January 2014, have been slowly and inadequately implemented. Grievances among minority groups and non-state actors are growing. The economy of Yemen is in […]

UN Summit Already Successful: $50 Billion Divested From Fossil Fuels

NATIONAL JOURNAL 09/22/14 By Michael Shank The United Nations climate summit in New York, where I’m writing from this week, is already a success. With Rockefeller Brothers Fund announcing this week that they’re divesting entirely from fossil fuels, pulling $860 million of RBF funds out of fossil fuel stocks, the […]