Note: This is an archived profile of a former U.S. Institute of Peace expert. The information is current as of the dates of tenure.
George A. Lopez became vice president of USIP’s Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding in August 2013 after 27 years at the Joan B. Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame where he held the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh, C.S.C., chair in Peace Studies. Lopez's research on state violence has been published in a wide range of social science and policy journals. He has been a frequent commentator about war and peace issues in the national and international media.
Since 1992, he has co-written or edited six books and more than 40 articles and book chapters on economic sanctions. In addition, he has been an advisor to various international agencies and governments regarding sanctions issues, ranging from assessing and limiting humanitarian impact to the design of targeted financial sanctions. From October 2010 until July 2011, he served on the United Nations Panel of Experts for monitoring and implementing U.N. Sanctions on North Korea.
Lopez has served in an advisory capacity to a number of foundations and organizations regarding peace-building and related issues. From 1988 through 1998, he chaired the Selection Committee of the Research and Writing Grants of the MacArthur Foundation’s Program in Peace and International Cooperation. From May to December 1997, he served as interim executive director of The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and chaired its board of directors until June 2003. From 2001-02, he was a senior research associate at the Carnegie Council on Ethics and International Affairs in New York City. He was a senior Jennings Randolph fellow at USIP in Washington, D.C. for 2009-10.