Michael Murphy Andregg | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Alma mater | University of California, Davis |
| Occupation(s) | Retired Professor, Peace Activist, Author, Documentarian |
| Known for | Causes of Wars, Human Demographics, Peace and Conflict Studies |
Michael Murphy Andregg (born in Nevada, USA, 1951) is known for his study of the causes of war, global problems related to war, sustainable development, intelligence ethics and his peace activism. He founded and directed for 30 years a non-profit organization called Ground Zero Minnesota dedicated to "top-quality, non-partisan education for informed democracy and human survival." Andregg has published numerous articles, study guides, documentaries and papers on biology, genetics, technology and contemporary social problems related to armed conflict. He has produced over 50 educational videos on wide-ranging subjects and his national award-winning book, On the Causes of War, was released in November 1997.
Andregg earned a Ph.D. in behavior genetics (1977) from the University of California, Davis after completing a triple-major B.S. in genetics, zoology and physical anthropology (1973). He studied under Theodosius Dobzhansky a prominent geneticist, evolutionary biologist and National Medal of Science recipient. During his university career, Andregg conducted field research on the behaviors of Barbary Apes (Macaca sylvanus) in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco and co-authored several articles with his mentor Dobzhansky, including "Distribution Among the Chromosomes of Drosophila pseudoobscura of the Genes Governing the Response to Light"[1] and "Ecological Variables Affecting the Dispersal Behavior of Drosophila pseudoobscura and its Relatives."[2] After completing two years of postdoctoral research at the University of Minnesota, he came to believe that war was a much greater public health hazard than rare diseases or abstract theories, and began to dedicate his life to the study of contemporary social problems, especially causes of war and sustainable development.
Andregg's study of global armed conflict and genocide resulted in his book, On the Causes of War, which won the International PeaceWriting Award in 1999, was reprinted twice, republished in Canada and translated into Italian. He taught undergraduate and graduate courses for 35 years as an adjunct at the University of Minnesota, with brief stints at Macalester and Gustavus Adolphus Colleges. He joined the Justice and Peace Studies faculty at the University of St. Thomas in 1993 and taught in the Aquinas Scholars program there until 2017. Andregg has lectured four times in South Korea and Japan on sustainable development, WMD and causes of wars, five times at Romania’s National Intelligence Academy, and at many other European conferences on intelligence reform, and human survival issues. He still lectures occasionally at American war and intelligence colleges, like the National Intelligence University, Army Command and General Staff College, and the Naval Postgraduate School.
In 1982, Andregg founded an educational, non-profit organization called Ground Zero Minnesota, which produced over 50 public television programs and sponsored about 5,000 educational programs in schools, churches, and civic groups on issues of peace and justice, many on the status and implications of weapons of mass destruction.[3] He serves on the boards of the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations, the United Nations Association of Minnesota, the Committee on Foreign Relations of Minnesota and is involved with many academic associations.
As a corollary to his research on the causes of war, Andregg began studying the craft of intelligence-gathering, analysis, espionage and action focusing on intelligence reform. He has arranged and moderated over twenty panels for intelligence-related conferences around the world, and presented at dozens more. He wrote a chapter on intelligence ethics for a textbook on intelligence studies,[4] a Handbook on Intelligence Ethics, and a similar chapter for The Oxford Handbook of National Security Intelligence[5] in 2009. His 2007 edited reader on intelligence ethics includes essays from 14 professionals from six countries. In 2008, Andregg released a documentary, Rethinking 9/11: Why Truth and Reconciliation are Better Strategies Than Global War,[6] which examines certain unanswered questions of who was behind the September 11, 2001 attacks and calls for a full, impartial examination of the evidence.
Dr. Andregg is a frequent public speaker, lecturer, media commentator[7] and mediator who has briefed Minnesota police, fire and public health officials on the effects of weapons of mass destruction. In 2008, he acted as a liaison between peace activists and the local police department during the Republican National Convention, held in Saint Paul, Minnesota.[8]
