The 1960s started 60 years ago, but the shadow cast by that decade in the US is long. It was a decade that fundamentally changed how the US treats our citizens and views our role in the world. In this episode of Big World, SIS professor Sarah Snyder joins us to discuss the long 1960s and US human rights policy.

Snyder tells us how she defines the “long ’60s” (1:28) and explains how US human rights policy evolved over this time period (2:32). She also discusses John F. Kennedy’s potential, had he not been assassinated in 1963, to have been the first US president to prioritize human rights abroad (4:06).

Based on research she conducted for her book, From Selma to Moscow: How Human Rights Activists Transformed US Foreign Policy, Snyder explains how transnational activism during the long ’60s fundamentally altered US foreign policy related to human rights (7:35) and how the decade and a half set the stage for human rights policy today (9:20).

Is promoting human rights abroad a partisan issue (13:28)? Can we expect to see human rights return as a US foreign policy priority in the Biden administration (15:25)? Snyder answers these questions and discusses whether or not current activism for human rights reflects what we saw in the ’60s (17:20) and if the influence on US politics of that influential decade is beginning to wane (20:40).

During our “Take Five” segment, Snyder tells us five steps that a new presidential administration should take to signal that it prioritizes human rights (11:13).