George A. Lopez

George A. Lopez (Ph.D., Syracuse University, 1975) "is a founding faculty of the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame where he now holds the Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C. Chair in Peace Studies. Lopez's research interests focus primarily on the problems of state violence and coercion, especially economic sanctions, gross violations of human rights, and ethics and the use of force.

"His work has been published in Chitty's Law Journal, Human Rights Quarterly, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, International Studies Quarterly, The Fletcher Forum, Journal of International Affairs, The International Journal of Human Rights, Foreign Policy, Foreign Affairs, and Ethics and International Affairs. With Michael Stohl, he has been editor and contributor to five books on repression and state terror, most notably, Government Violence and Repression: An Agenda for Research.

"Working with David Cortright since 1992, he has written more than twenty articles and book chapters, as well as five books, on economic sanctions, with special reference to UN sanctions on Iraq. The Lopez-Cortright volume, The Sanctions Decade: Assessing UN Strategies in the 1990s has drawn critical acclaim, including being named a Choice Outstanding Academic Title in 2000.  Towards Smart Sanctions: Targeting Economic Statecraft, co-edited with Cortright and Sanctions and the Search for Security, co-authored with Cortright both appeared in the spring of 2002.

"With Cortright and Alistair Millar, Lopez wrote WINNING WITHOUT WAR: SENSIBLE SECURITY OPTIONS FOR DEALING WITH IRAQ in October 2002. The policy brief has been called the most influential document in Europe and the United States for those favoring an alternative to war with Iraq.  Lopez and Cortight’s research detailing the unlikely presence of WMDs in Iraq was detailed before the war in “Disarming Iraq” in Arms Control Today (Sept. 2002) and then further articulated after the war in “Containing Iraq: the Sanctions Worked” in Foreign Affairs (July/August, 2004).

"Lopez’s investigation of UN sanctions on Iraq began in 1993 when he was asked to help the then Department of Humanitarian Affairs develop methodologies for assessing sanctions impact. He also observed closely the development of SCR 986 (April, 1995) which established the Oil-for-Food Program and played a significant role in the development of what became SCR 1409 (May, 2002) the smart sanctions package that further liberalized the Oil-for-Food program.  In 2005 and 2006 he testified before relevant US Congressional Committees regarding corruption and other issues within the UN Oil-for-Food program.

"Lopez has served in an advisory capacity to a number of foundations and organizations involved in human rights, international affairs education, and peace research. From 1988 through 1998, he chaired the Selection Committee of the Research and Writing Grants Committee of the MacArthur Foundation's Program in Peace and International Cooperation. From May 1-December 31, 1997, he served as Interim Executive Director of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and chaired their Board of Directors until June, 2003. In addition, in 2001-2 he was a senior research associate at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs in New York City."


 * Editorial Advisor, Peace Review: A Journal of Social Justice
 * Editorial Review Board, Human Rights Quarterly