Michael Lekson
Director of Gaming, Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding
Contact
Please submit all media inquiries to interviews@usip.org or call 202.429.3869.
For all other inquiries, please call 202.457.1700.
Languages: Spanish
Multimedia
Michael Lekson is director of gaming for the Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding. He joined the Institute’s Professional Training program in 2003 as a program officer. He came to the Institute following a 26-year career in the Department of State, where he was deputy assistant secretary of state for arms control, overseeing all multilateral arms control negotiations and treaty implementation, for which he received the secretary’s Distinguished Service Award. Prior to that, Lekson was deputy to the special representative of the president and the secretary of state for implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords. Lekson was also director of the Office of European Security and Political Affairs, where he helped develop and implement policies to adapt NATO to the post-Cold War world, and of the Office of United Kingdom, Benelux, and Ireland Affairs, where he worked intensively on the Northern Ireland peace process.
During his Foreign Service career, Lekson served as a consular officer in Bilbao, Spain, and as a political officer in U.S. embassies in Costa Rica, Peru, and the United Kingdom. He was deputy U.S. representative to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe during the OSCE’s augmentation of its democracy building, conflict prevention, and conflict management efforts in formerly communist countries, especially in the Balkans and Central Asia. Prior to joining the Department of State, he served two years in the U.S. Army as a field artillery officer.
Lekson has a B.A. in English from Princeton University and a master’s in linguistics from Stanford University.
Publications:
- Institute Training Program Helps Iraqis Identify And Pursue Core National Interests
USIPeace Briefing, December 21, 2004 - "Dealing with Conflict: The Contributions of Training" (co-author) in Peacemaking in International Conflict, edited by William Zartman (2007).
Publications & Tools
July 2012
USIP trained hundreds of African peacekeepers in seven nations this year in how to negotiate and mediate the peace. |
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May 2012
On May 2, USIP hosted NATO Defense College (NDC) Senior Course 120, which consisted of 74 senior military officers from 31 countries worldwide, as part of the group's Transatlantic Field Study trip to Washington, DC. NDC Dean Dr. Richard Hooker and Brigadier General Patrick Desjardins of France, dean of Academic Operations, led the delegation; Daria Daniels Skodnik coordinated the trip for NDC. Issue Areas: WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control
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April 2012
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News Feature
by Steven Ruder
USIP briefed Air Force Lieutenant General Richard Y. Newton III. The briefing outlined USIP’s efforts to promote dialogue between India and Pakistan and ease tensions in the volatile Kashmir region; to harness the power of technology for crisis mapping, humanitarian response, and interagency coordination; and USIP’s training programs. Countries: India, Kashmir, Pakistan
| Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention, Science, Technology, and Peacebuilding
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March 2012
The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) is continuing a series of courses organized by its Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding on the challenges of nuclear nonproliferation and arms control in the 21st century. The most recent course focused on Iran and Pakistan. |
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January 2012
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News Feature
by Michael Lekson
The Polish government makes use of USIP training to help key figures from Afghanistan and Tunisia lead their own countries’ transitions. Countries: Afghanistan, Iraq, Poland, Tunisia
| Issue Areas: Economics and Conflict, Education, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Training
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October 2011
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News Feature
by Gordon Lubold
Adm. James Stavridis, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe, spoke with USIP staff about some of USIP’s programs making a difference in conflict zones |
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October 2011
The Institute’s Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding held the course in nuclear nonproliferation Sept. 26-30. And, for the first time ever, an undersecretary of state, Ellen Tauscher, spoke to an Academy class. Tauscher is the undersecretary of state for Arms Control and International Security Affairs. Countries: Iran, Korean Peninsula, North Korea, South Korea, United States
| Issue Areas: WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control
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May 2011
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News Feature
by Gordon Lubold
If military folks play war games, then peace builders play peace games. But SENSE, or Strategic Economic Needs and Security Exercise simulation training, creates a world of make-believe in which only pragmatic decision-making actually pays off. Issue Areas: Conflict Analysis and Prevention
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May 2010
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Book
by Robert M. Perito
Peace, stability, and humanitarian operations typically involve the interaction of international organizations (IOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the U.S. government, and the U.S. military. The Institute’s highly successful Guide to IGOs, NGOs and the Military in Peace and Relief Operations, which was based on peace operations in the Balkans following the Cold War, has been instrumental in facilitating interaction between IOs, NGOs, and the military. This online version includes updated information and resources. Countries: Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan, Sudan, The Two Sudans, Tunisia, Yemen
| Issue Areas: Education, Mediation and Facilitation, Negotiation and Diplomacy, Post-Conflict and Peacekeeping Activities, Rule of Law, Security Sector Reform/Governance, Training
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April 2010
At the Nuclear Security Summit on April 12 and 13, leaders from around the world pledged to take their own steps to secure nuclear material used in bombs, civilian nuclear reactors and power plants, and to work together to enhance overall security. Countries: Iran, Korean Peninsula, Mexico, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Ukraine, United States
| Issue Areas: WMD, Nonproliferation, and Arms Control
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