President Bill Clinton Shares Insights on Foreign Policy and Diplomacy

Interview with former president marks inaugural Stephen W. Bosworth Lecture

Featured in the Belfer Center Spring 2021 Newsletter »

On April 7, the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center was honored to welcome President Bill Clinton to Harvard as the featured speaker at the inaugural Stephen W. Bosworth Memorial Lecture in Diplomacy. The virtual event featured opening remarks by Harvard President Larry Bacow and a video tribute to the late Ambassador Bosworth, who was an active and beloved member of the Belfer Center community for a number of years. A closing video featured comments by Ambassador Bosworth’s widow, Christine Bosworth, and their grandson.

In his opening, President Bacow praised Stephen Bosworth as an “extraordinary diplomat” and wise man who, “no matter where he found himself in the world, always put people at ease.”

Nicholas Burns, Goodman Professor of the Practice of Diplomacy and International Relations who also leads the Future of Diplomacy Project, welcomed President Clinton and moderated the discussion with him.

President Clinton spoke about foreign policy challenges he faced during his presidency and his perspective on key diplomatic issues today, including bilateral relations with a resurgent Russia and a rising China.

In response to Prof. Burns’ question of whether Clinton had an indication when he was president that Putin would become the adversary most Americans believe he is today, he said, “It was clear (Putin’s) model for greatness was the czars.”  Putin wanted to reestablish Russia’s dominance, he said. “I thought we should be thinking of a world when none of us could dominate on our own.”

Regarding China, Clinton said, “We have no choice but to work with them.” We're not about to go to war with them right now, he added, “but we don't want them to run over their neighbors.”

With China, he said, you need to “work for the best but prepare for the worst.”

Responding to written questions from two Harvard students, Winston Michalak (Harvard College ’22) and Michelle Ngirbabul (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health ’21), Clinton offered his thoughts on North Korea and global health needs.

Michalak asked President Clinton for his suggestions on reducing the nuclear threat from North Korea. “With North Korea,” Clinton said, “you have to know what you won’t do and do everything else.” 

In response to Ngirbabul’s question about the need for global health diplomacy, Clinton agreed that we need to see public health as “indispensable.” Encouraging young people to consider careers in public health, he added, “We need better health systems in America and around the world. Next to climate change, this is our most important nontraditional security problem.”

Throughout the conversation, President Clinton affirmed the potential and promise of diplomacy – or, as he remarked, “how to win without war whenever possible.”

The Stephen W. Bosworth Memorial Lecture in Diplomacy honors the legacy of one of America’s finest diplomats and educators, Ambassador Steve Bosworth. Sponsored by the Future of Diplomacy Project at Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, the Bosworth Lecture series brings distinguished leaders to Harvard to speak about foreign policy, diplomacy, and peacekeeping – three areas where Ambassador Bosworth focused his diplomatic and academic career.