James M. Skelly is director of the Centre on Critical Thinking, which he founded, and a faculty member at the Institute for Social and European Studies in Köszeg, Hungary. He served as the director of the Baker Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies and professor of peace studies at Juniata College in Pennsylvania, and has held teaching posts and lectured in countries throughout the world.
As a young U.S. military officer, his refusal to serve in Vietnam led to his federal lawsuit, Skelly v. Laird, against the United States Secretary of Defense, which helped to redefine the criteria for in-service conscientious objection. During this period, he worked actively against the war in South East Asia through several groups which he helped to found including the Concerned Officers' Movement. Following his honorable discharge, he worked with Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, and other entertainment industry figures, as the advance man and political coordinator for the "FTA" show which was designed to encourage U.S. soldiers and sailors to freely express their opposition to continuation of the war in Southeast Asia.