Michael Shkolnik

Michael Shkolnik is a senior Middle East analyst and head of the Africa Integrated Mission Group in the Canadian foreign ministry’s International Security branch, regularly briefing Cabinet Ministers and senior officials. Michael is also an adjunct professor at Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA), teaching graduate-level seminars on terrorism and armed conflict analysis based on his academic research and government experience. From 2019-21, Michael served as a policy officer and periodically acted as Deputy Director with the Department of National Defence’s (DND) Middle East and Africa Division. At DND, Michael focused on counterterrorism operations and multinational stabilization missions. Previously, Michael was awarded the Cadieux-Léger Fellowship (a unique scholar-in-residence program) with the foreign ministry’s Strategic Foresight unit, leading projects on the futures of terrorism and major power competition. In his various capacities, Michael has participated in analytic exchanges and diplomatic engagements with Five Eyes allies and other international partners.

In 2020, Michael completed a Ph.D. at NPSIA, where he wrote an award-winning dissertation focusing on the evolution of nascent militant organizations into full-fledged insurgencies. His research has been published in leading academic and policy-oriented outlets, including Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, Combatting Terrorism Center (CTC) Sentinel, Terrorism and Political Violence, War on the Rocks, and Perspectives on Terrorism. Throughout his career, he has also consulted for various international security and terrorism research institutes in Washington D.C., Ottawa, and Israel. Michael graduated magna cum laude with a master’s degree in Counter-Terrorism and Homeland Security Studies (2010) from Israel’s Reichman University.