Peace and Conflict

Why Obama Should Pardon Snowden

USA TODAY 09/14/16 By Michael Shank The real threat to national security is our own egregious activities in war zones. The American Civil Liberties Union, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and others are launching a campaign this week to get President Obama to pardon Edward Snowden for his 2013 whistle-blowing […]

Why Forest Whitaker Is Making the UN Goals Famous

HUFFINGTON POST 04/22/16 By Michael Shank This was a big week for the United Nations, which came out strong on climate and the sustainable development goals and witnessed major milestones in recent months. First, on climate, post-Paris, there were over 160 countries signing the deal at UN headquarters on Earth […]

Analysis: Progressive Policies Provide Answer for Sanders’ Foreign Policy Gap

MSNBC 2/10/16 By Michael Shank Bernie Sanders’ foreign policy — or apparent lack thereof — is not an oversight that’s unique to the presidential candidate. It’s representative of a pervasive problem within the progressive movement. Progressive elected officials in America are more often raised on domestic issues: lobbying on healthcare, […]

Congress Better Listen to the Pope on Climate Change

DAILY BEAST 09/21/15 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Lloyd Doggett Pope Francis is not just pontificating. His urgent message is about preserving human life. One might imagine, or hope, that Congress would experience the historic address of Pope Francis to a joint session later this week as something beyond […]

Confronting Homeland Security’s ‘SSSS’ Watch List

HUFFINGTON POST 05/21/15 By Michael Shank It’s official. The Department of Homeland Security has placed me on a travel watch list. Every time I travel abroad, I now have “SSSS”, which stands for Secondary Security Screen Selection, on my boarding documents. That means I get an extra rigorous full-body screening, […]

United States Faces Uncertain Water Future as Drought Expands

ABC NEWS 03/30/15 By Nikolai Beilharz Drought in California in the United States is now in its fourth year, and some environmental groups say there is not enough political momentum and interest to address the problem. The water shortage has organisations like Climate Nexus, a not-for-profit group focusing on climate […]

How to Fix Our Police Departments

CNN 03/12/15 By Michael Shank and US Congressman Hank Johnson Editor’s Note: “Hank Johnson represents Georgia’s 4th Congressional District and serves on the House Judiciary and Armed Services committees. Michael Shank, a former congressional staffer, is adjunct faculty at George Mason University’s School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The views […]

Death to America in Yemen? No.

HUFFINGTON POST  03/03/15 By Michael Shank With Yemen politics in perpetual disarray – as President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi escapes house arrest, rescinds his resignation, seeks refuge in the south, and a transitional council commences in the capital – the country’s economy and currency remain on the brink of collapse, water […]

A Clear and Present Danger to Planet Earth: Climate Change

NATIONAL INTEREST 01/26/15 By Michael Shank and Des Browne We are facing a new security threat, and, if left unaddressed, it has the potential to kill thousands of people in a single summer. We are talking, of course, about climate change. A new study authored by the British Met Office […]

Hottest Year on Record, 2014, Brings Economic Opportunity

HUFFINGTON POST 01/07/15 By Michael Shank and Julia Trezona Peek With 2014 weighing in as the hottest year on record, the window to mitigate global warming rapidly shrinks. It’s time to eliminate the debate that action on climate change will harm economic growth. Climate change, left unaddressed, will decimate our […]