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Kevin Curtis
Episode · #701

CROCAST Kevin Curtis

Guest Kevin CurtisHosted by Siniša ŽugićMay 3, 2026
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation

The conversation begins with a seemingly straightforward question: "How should I present you?" But for Kevin Curtis, a former UK policeman who spent over half his professional life investigating war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, the answer is anything but simple. His arrival in Zagreb in May 1995, just as the city was bombed, plunged him into a reality far removed from his police work in England. What began as a one-year secondment to the Hague Tribunal became a decades-long commitment to understanding a conflict he still struggles to fully comprehend, driven by the conviction that his work was "meaningful and important." Curtis offers a rare perspective: that of an outsider thrust into the heart of a European war, tasked with uncovering its darkest truths while simultaneously witnessing the resilience of its people. He reflects on the initial shock of a world turned "chaotic overnight," the bizarre shift from neighbors to enemies, and his own naive optimism that displaced people would eventually return home — a hope that ultimately proved true. This is a conversation about the long shadow of conflict, the slow, complex path to normality, and the unexpected ways a temporary assignment can redefine a life.

Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Kevin Curtis's first day in Zagreb, May 1, 1995, was followed by the city's bombing on May 2-3, immediately shifting his carefully planned international legal work to direct, on-the-ground crisis investigation. Sometimes, the mission statement changes the moment you arrive, demanding immediate adaptation.
02
What began as a one-year secondment to the Hague Tribunal, intended as a temporary break from his UK police career, stretched into decades because he realized "the world is a lot bigger than England." The best way to understand your own priorities is often to be confronted with a problem dramatically larger than your current frame of reference.
03
Arriving in Croatia knowing "nothing about this place," Curtis was even shown how to use a laptop by his interpreter. Effective engagement in a new, complex environment starts with acknowledging your own ignorance, then finding common ground with the people you came to serve.
04
Despite his decades investigating war crimes, Curtis admits he never fully understood "why" the war happened, beyond "greed and power." Some truths about large-scale human conflict remain opaque, even to those who dedicate their lives to uncovering them.
05
To traumatized displaced people who declared "we will never go back," Curtis optimistically promised they would one day return home to "sit down together and we'll have grill and we will drink wine." Holding onto a vision of future normality, even when it seems naive in the face of impossible present circumstances, can prove to be a powerful long-term force.
06
The Hague Tribunal's mandate focused solely on arresting "the authors of this war," not "low-level perpetrators." Targeting the top of a command structure can be crucial for systemic change, but it leaves the complex work of lower-level reconciliation to others.
07
After nearly 30 years, Curtis sees Croatia "drastically moving forward," especially in the "positive attitude" of the younger generation, while his Croatian wife "doesn't necessarily agree." An outsider's perspective often highlights macro progress more clearly than an insider's day-to-day view, revealing the inherent tension between different scales of observation.
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