About the Shattuck Center

The Shattuck Center on Conflict, Negotiation and Recovery brings together policy practitioners, academics, students, and others to come up with new ideas on how to end conflict or speed the recovery from war. Based at the School of Public Policy at Central European University, the center runs open research collaborations aimed at widening the range of people involved in public policy issues around violent conflict and in providing opportunities for students to engage in current problems.

The center is named for John Shattuck, Rector and President of CEU from 2009 to 2016. John's career in diplomacy and the promotion of peace and human rights took him to some of the world's most troubled places. As Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, he played a vital role in the Dayton peace process that ended the war in Bosnia and in helping Rwanda recover from its genocide. He was central to the emergence of international justice institutions to try those accused of crimes against humanity.

Each year, the center hosts the Holbrooke Fellows, one of whom is a diplomat from the US Department of State. The fellowship, named for US diplomat Richard Holbrooke who was central to the Dayton peace process, ensures that the center's research has a strong policy focus.

The Shattuck Center also organizes an annual event known as the Lemkin Reunion that brings together people involved in addressing genocide or atrocity crimes. The event is named for Raphael Lemkin, the Polish lawyer who coined the term genocide and was instrumental in the passing of the UN convention that outlaws the crime.

By bringing together students, academics, and policymakers, the center breaks down some of the barriers to participation in public policy debates. Its current work focuses on the Syrian city of Aleppo and aims to ensure that refugees from this war get a voice in the eventual reconstruction of their homes. The Aleppo Project documents the violence that has destroyed so much of one of the oldest cities on earth and driven many of its people into exile as well as providing a platform for thinking about the future of the city. Almost every city destroyed by war in the past 300 years has been rebuilt and eventually Aleppo will be as well. When that time comes, its citizens need to be empowered with knowledge and ideas.

More than 25 students have participated in The Aleppo Project and other Shattuck Center projects, enabling them to get direct experience of policy research and development.