Michael A. Cohen

Michael A. Cohen "is the author of Live From the Campaign Trail: The Greatest Presidential Campaign Speeches of the 20th Century and How They Shaped Modern America (Walker Books: 2008). He is a Senior Fellow at the American Security Project. He is currently writing his second book for Oxford University Press on the 1968 presidential election and its impact on American politics. He has also been a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and the World Policy Institute.

"Michael’s research at the American Security Project focuses on a number of topics, including US national security strategy and the growing role and influence of non-state actors. He has written on the issue of private military contractors, reforming the foreign assistance bureaucracy (with a particular focus on democracy promotion), improving aid coordination between private and public actors and efficacy of counter-insurgency to US national security strategy. Michael is a regular blogger at www.democracyarsenal.org where he writes frequently on US policy in Afghanistan. He also writes a weekly column for AOLNews. Michael serves on the board of the National Security Network and has taught at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

"Previously, Michael served in the U.S. Department of State as chief speechwriter for U.S. Representative to the United Nations Bill Richardson and Undersecretary of State Stuart Eizenstat. He has worked at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Foreign Policy magazine, and as chief speechwriter for Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). He was a Senior Vice President at the strategic communications firm of Robinson, Lerer and Montgomery and has worked on political campaigns both in the United States and overseas."