Michael Shank

Recent Istanbul negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 and this week's Baghdad negotiations have tempered, albeit temporarily, the cry for war.

It was close under President George W. Bush, who rallied regime-changers to invade, but it is worse now. The Pentagon publicly prepares plans, Congress issues crippling sanctions, and candidates...

Republican Sen. Richard Lugar joins the ranks this month of his ousted moderate colleagues and predecessors, from former Sens. Chuck Hagel and Lincoln Chafee to former Reps. Wayne Gilchrest, Chris Shays and Sherwood Boehlert. Frankly, it is a little depressing. Wait, more than a little. A lot.

Today (April 24), the Institute for Economics and Peace released the second annual U.S. Peace Index, which assesses America's peacefulness at the state and city levels and analyzes the costs associated with violence and the socio-economic measures associated with peace.

So just how...

Three months in and 2012 is setting trans-Atlantic records for harsher-than-normal austerity measures and disillusioned voters.

East of the Atlantic, Greece struggles to regain footing while Portugal, Italy and Spain teeter on the brink. West of it, the politicians in Congress, for...

Lest we think the tragic killing of Trayvon Martin in Florida has little legal relevance for our Washington metro area, think again. All eyes should be on the state of Maryland. The U.S. Court of Appeals' decision recently regarding concealed-carry permits means that Maryland residents no longer must...

To ask "Who is George Zimmerman?" -- as many are now asking -- is perhaps the wrong question. Undoubtedly, Zimmerman needs to be brought to justice in the tragic and unjust killing of Trayvon Martin.

The killing of Trayvon Martin demonstrates how insidiously pervasive racism...

On Syria, there is a back-story from which the US should learn, lest it be repeated again. For years, long before the killing by President Bashar al-Assad's government began, the US preferred a policy with Damascus of disengagement. It is unclear why the White House pursued this - with Syria,...

Burning Korans and urinating on dead bodies is, without question, bad diplomacy in Afghanistan, but by themselves these latest episodes did nothing to make us reconsider our timetable for leaving. We had plenty of good reasons already to withdraw. It is the recent killing of 16 unarmed civilians that is...

Evil is back. Mitt Romney, in his op-ed last week on Iran, resurrected President George W. Bush-era evil finger pointing towards Tehran. What a surprise. And what fertile Congressional ground in which to lay this "evil" egg given Congress's consistent support -- save for a few...

With Robert Zoellick stepping down from the World Bank helm, there is no better time for a development economist with solid on-the-ground and substantial international experience -- like Dr. Jeffrey Sachs -- to take his place.

There are three clear reasons for...

As Germany continues to rise as lead survivor -- and decision-maker -- in the European Union's economic mire, the U.S. would do well to take a lesson from the country's economic model, particularly in manufacturing.

Losing 4 million jobs over the past 10 years, U.S. manufacturing has hovered at roughly...

The organization for which I work, the Institute for Economics and Peace, released a new report this week detailing the macroeconomic effects of U.S. government spending on wars and the military since World War II.

Our "Economic Consequences of War on the US...

As the Republican candidates leave Nevada, one topic seems to have escaped their attention entirely: a credible economic cure for what ails the states where they're waging their campaigns for president. Naturally, each of the Republican candidates claims that their economic policy prescriptions are superior to those of their rivals....

With climate change a non-starter in Congress and among Republican presidential candidates, it is becoming clear that something more than mere nation-state commitments will be needed to counter climate change and reduce global warming. With nations reluctant to recommit to another climate treaty (as witnessed recently...

It is ironic that Amish and Mennonites -- arguably some of the least politically active Christian sects in America -- settled in some of the most politically important regions of the country, in states that are critical for their primary caucus value or swing state potential. Iowa is a good...

If my Amish-Mennonite forefathers could see me now, I wonder what they would say. If I sat down with America's first Amish bishop (my 6th great-grandfather) or the first Mennonite bishop in Virginia (my 5th great-grandfather), how would they feel about my working in Congress these last three years as...

In light of Congress's failure to wrestle up short-term cost-cutting measures for our country, we must not lose sight of longer-term concerns about the sustainability of our deficits, debts and, ultimately, our budgets. While we tempt deadlines now, trimming where feasible, we will land in this position on multiple occasions...

This post was co-written with Dot Maver and Joaquin Phoenix.

Look at 2011's most significant events, those that will have an indelible impact on our future. We saw new wars, revolutions, record-breaking global population growth, climate-related disasters and poverty and income inequality statistics. We also witnessed innovative...

With the excitement about Moammar Qaddafi's downfall beginning to fade, Libya's new management has begun governing and reconstructing the war-torn nation.

Plenty of attention is being paid to the governance angle: Is the National Transitional Council a legitimate, representative body? When will elections be held? Is the new Libya going...

The fact that America's biggest companies paid no federal taxes may come as no surprise to Washington. The report released earlier this month by nonprofit groups Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy shows that 30 of the top 300 companies paid no...