Episode 164: John Shattuck

John Shattuck is the former US Ambassador to the Czech Republic, former President of the Central European University, and served as the Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy Human Rights and Labor During the Clinton administration.  He is currently a professor at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts

John was deep in the policy debates over the US response to the Rwanda genocide and explains how and why the United States failed to mount a meaningful response to this crisis. John also played a key role in uncovering the genocide at Srebrenica in which some 8,000 Bosnian men and boys were murdered by Serb forces, and he explains how he came to help uncover this crime.

John is a board member of Humanity in Action and we kick off this conversation discussing the situation in Poland and Hungary, where pluralist values and civic institutions have come under extreme threat by right wing governments. W discuss how civic organizations and universities can push back against this creeping illiberalism.

This is a great talk with someone who has had a fascinating career standing up for civil liberties and human rights in the United States and around the world.