Author and Analyst in International and Public Affairs
Reports and Essays
2024
Atlantic Council, January 25 - Escaping the Permanent Suez: Navigating the Geopolitics of Europe’s Decarbonization
Contributed to this report analyzing the barriers that Europe faces in its decarbonization objectives. These shortcomings arise from fiscal, political (mainly national and supranational), and industrial spaces in the EU, as well as the emergence of decarbonization as a form of great power competition.
2023
Atlantic Council, January 24 - Stopping the Kleptocrats: A Strategy for the United States and Europe to Address Weaponized Corruption.
Co-authored a pivotal report on transatlantic weaponized corruption, receiving endorsements from top US, UK, and EU lawmakers.
Atlantic Council, September 6 - Policy memo: A NATO-style spending target could fund long-term decarbonization
Proposes that EU member states and like-minded allies should set national-level spending targets, each based on a percentage of the respective annual GDP, similar to the 2% GDP pledge that NATO members make for military expenditures.
2022
Atlantic Council, February 15 - The Afghan refugee crisis: How to resurrect the global refugee resettlement coalition
Contributed to this report summarizing the key issues surrounding the resettlement of Afghan refugees following the Fall of Kabul in 2021, including its proposals for a burden-sharing plan for refugee resettlement.
2021
IHEID Master’s Dissertation: SWIFT and its Role in Global Security
Analyzes the increasing prominence of the SWIFT cross-border communications system in the issuing and implementation of US sanctions.
Selected Commentary and Op-Ed Pieces
2024
Compass, October 11: The Labour government must do more to prove its commitment to constitutional reform
Proposes that the Starmer ministry call a royal commission into UK constitutional reform (primarily for the House of Lords and the electoral system) and re-establish the Department for Constitutional Affairs.
The New European, September 2: It’s time for a progressive alliance on electoral reform
Argues that the Labour party should work with the Liberal Democrats and Greens to enact electoral reform in the UK before the next election.
Mosaic, August 2: What Andy Kim’s Senate nomination could mean for the Asian American community
Describes how Andy Kim’s Senate campaign is historic for it being the first headed by a Korean American, and how this visibility could be leveraged to address social issues disproportionately impacting Asian Americans.
New Atlanticist, July 19: How to institutionalize NATO’s cooperation with its closest Pacific partners
Following NATO’s 50th anniversary Washington summit, this piece proposes the formation of an Atlantic-Pacific Partnership Forum (APPF) to formalize platforms for cooperation between NATO and the Indo-Pacific Four (Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan).
New Eastern Europe, June 6: How the expected Eurosceptic surge in June’s European elections may strengthen the European Parliament
Argues that the rise of Eurosceptic populists in the European elections may ironically empower the European Parliament due to the increasingly competitive nature of informal coalition building within the body.
The Diplomat, May 17: The Indo-Pacific Could Be Within Europe’s Reach
Proposes that European militaries could develop a stronger expeditionary capacity in the Indo-Pacific region through the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force, but that such a move would only happen if there was consensus in NATO for this to occur.
Internationale Politik Quarterly, April 11: What Germany Can Learn from Japan’s Zeitenwende
Highlights how Japan’s historical aversion to militarism is similar to Germany’s, and how Germany could take some key lessons on implementing its “Zeitenwende” agenda from Japan’s example.
UkraineAlert, April 2: Putin is weaponizing corruption to weaken Europe from within
Discusses how Kremlin-aligned Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk was found to be bribing European politicians to promote Russian interests and the continued vulnerabilities the EU and US exhibit against weaponized corruption.
New Atlanticist, March 28: The G7 needs a permanent secretariat. The 2024 elections cycle demonstrates why.
Proposes that the Group of Seven establish a permanent secretariat to institutionalize some of its policies, pool its staff resources, and create a policymaking body alongside the G7 president. A secretariat would help counter the emerging Russia-Iran-North Korea axis and China’s strategic competition, and keep action addressing climate change on track.
New Atlanticist, February 28: After 14 years in opposition, what might a Labour foreign policy look like?
Examines the historical roots of “progressive realism” that forms the basis of the UK Labour party’s Lammy doctrine, which emerges from the legacies of UK Foreign Secretaries Ernest Bevin and Robin Cook.
The Diplomat, February 16: The Prospects for Taiwan-EU Cooperation
Argues that Europe should bolster its economic and political relations with Taiwan following the election of Lai Ching-Te, even though the Legislative Yuan has a divided status.
New Atlanticist, February 7: Charles Michel’s U-turn has not solved the thorny question of who the next European Council president will be
Discusses Charles Michel’s potential successors as president of the European Council following his decision not to run in the June 2024 European elections.
New Atlanticist, February 1: Ursula von der Leyen has delivered major wins on decarbonization. What would she do with another term?
Analyzes the effectiveness of von der Leyen’s European Green Deal and REPowerEU Plan in pushing Europe towards decarbonization, and what she may do if elected for a second term as president of the European Commission.
New Atlanticist, January 17: Even as Brexit awkwardness remains, the UK and EU should work together on decarbonization
Highlights opportunities for continued UK-EU cooperation on sustainability and climate action following Brexit.
2023
New Atlanticist, December 15: The EU needs a buyers’ club for critical minerals. Here’s why.
Proposes that the EU-led critical raw minerals club be connected to the US-ROK-Japan Camp David Entente’s supply chain early warning system to make them more resilient.
New Atlanticist, December 8: Ukraine in the EU would be a game-changer for Europe’s decarbonization drive
Analyzes how Ukraine’s EU accession process, linked to its clean energy-based reconstruction, could influence EU green industrial policy.
NK News Pro, December 8: How North Korean support for Russia and Hamas compels Seoul to pivot West
Examines ROK’s likely responses to DPRK’s support for the Kremlin and Hamas in the Russo-Ukrainian and Israel-Hamas Wars, respectively.
The Diplomat, December 7: What’s Next for the South Korea-UK Relationship?
Following the signing of the ROK-UK Downing Street Accord, this article argues in favor of a ROK-UK Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA) that would increase ROK and UK’s security presence in Europe and the Indo-Pacific, respectively. This article was later cited among RAA proposals on Wikipedia’s article on RAAs.
The Diplomat, September 9: Why South Korea Has Emerged as a Key Partner to the Transatlantic Community
Discusses how ROK has increased cooperation with the transatlantic community in the domains of cybersecurity, nuclear non-proliferation, and semiconductor and EV production.
New Atlanticist, June 1: The G7 can take NATO-EU climate cooperation to the next level
Proposes that the G7 should begin inviting the NATO Secretary-General to G7 summits to facilitate NATO-EU cooperation on climate action.
EnergySource, March 10: Clean industrial policies: A space for EU-US collaboration
Compares the differences between the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and EU Green Deal Industrial Plan (GDIP) in promoting clean energy-based industrial policy, primarily in the US’s fiscal strengths compared to the EU’s regulatory prowess.
Foreign Policy, March 7: The U.K. Has a Chance to Stop Backsliding on Climate
Argues that the then-impending refresh to the UK Integrated Review should emphasize climate action and leadership as a key element of UK foreign policy and national security strategy.
2022
Foreign Policy, May 23: Corruption Could Mean Ukraine Loses a Future Peace
Highlights the potential transparency measures that could be used to prevent corrupt actors in Ukraine from disproportionately benefiting from reconstruction aid, including reporting and recalling mechanisms for aid.
World Economic Forum, January 31: What's behind China’s cryptocurrency ban?
Connects China’s cryptocurrency bans with existing measures to curb capital flight from China.
2021
Fair Observer, September 29: The US Must Keep Tunisia’s Slide Toward Autocracy in Check
Suggests that the US should restrict military aid to Tunisia as an accountability measure following growing repression in the country.
The Diplomat, August 26: Will Japan Become a Hub for China and Russia to Evade Sanctions?
Written and published prior to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, this article analyzes how Japan’s sanctions mechanisms have to be coordinated and harmonized between other G7 members to prevent potential sanctions evasion by China and Russia. This article was later republished in The Japan Times.
National Interest, February 3: Post-Pandemic Tourism Could Boost China’s New Digital Currency
Examines how China’s tourism industry could be a vector for the adoption of China’s CBDC overseas.
2020
The Diplomat, November 26: A Financial Alliance Won’t Help China and Russia Dethrone the US Dollar
Discusses the relative strength of the US Dollar in international trade, even with the rising trend of de-dollarization led by China and Russia.
The Graduate Institute Press, June 9: The 1918 Pandemic, the First Red Scare, and How the US Almost Slid into Authoritarianism in the Early 20th Century
Discusses how the 1918 Pandemic and the First Red Scare coincided with growing political repression in the United States, and led to the founding of both the FBI and the ACLU.
About
Francis Shin is an author and analyst specializing in transatlantic institutions, anti-corruption, and clean energy policy. He has a Master of International Affairs degree from the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, where his dissertation was on the growing role of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) network in international sanctions regimes.
Shin was previously a researcher at the Atlantic Council and the Future of Financial Intelligence Sharing, a research partnership with the Royal United Services Institute’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies. Shin has also worked at the Center for a New American Security in Washington, DC, the United Nations Office at Geneva, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.