Old North Church Speaker Series presented in partnership with Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University: LECTURE + COMMUNITY CONVERSATION
Populism and Nationalism: What We Can Do to Strengthen Our Democracy, a lecture by John Shattuck, foreign affairs and human rights expert.
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Old North Church,
193 Salem Street,
Boston MA 02113
Populist discontent with democracy is on the rise. We see examples of this dissatisfaction in the economic and cultural rebellions of people feeling threatened by globalization and shut out by elites. John Shattuck, foreign affairs and human rights expert, will examine how that discontent is being manipulated by opportunistic politicians in the US and Europe. These political figures claim they can fix the situation by strengthening nationalism, which often translates into weakening democratic institutions and centralizing power. How does that affect our global and domestic communities? What are the potential sources of resilience of our democracy, and what can we do as citizens to save it?
Afterwards, join us for a reception and Community Conversation, co-facilitated by Shattuck and Brian Conley, Ph.D., for an intimate discussion on the necessity of active citizenship and the role individuals play in governmental shifts.
John Shattuck is Professor of Practice in Diplomacy at the Fletcher School of Tufts University, specializing in transatlantic affairs and US foreign policy, and Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, focusing on the contemporary crisis of democracy in the US and Europe. Previously, he served as the President of Central European University in Budapest, Hungary (2009-2016), the CEO of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation, and the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor under President Clinton. From 1984 to 1993 Shattuck was a Vice-President at Harvard University and taught at the Harvard Law School. His many publications include Freedom on Fire, a study of the international response to genocide and crimes against humanity, Rights of Privacy, and articles on higher education, human rights, foreign affairs, and international security.
Brian M. Conley, PhD, is the Director of Graduate Studies and an Associate Professor in the Government Department at Suffolk University in Boston. His principal research and teaching interests are in the areas of political parties, the US electoral politics, political marketing and communication. His research and writing have appeared in the Studies in American Political Development, American Review of Politics, the Journal of American Studies and Political Science Quarterly as well as in numerous political anthologies on US politics. In 2014, he edited, with Kenneth Cosgrove and Jennifer Lees-Marshment, Political Marketing in the United States for Routledge. Current research projects include a book with Routledge examining the rise of the conservative Right within the Republican Party between Goldwater and Trump. Conley’s new forthcoming book, The Rise of the Republican Right: From Goldwater to Reagan, will be released in May 2019. Conley received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the New School for Social Research in New York City.
