Cold War Germany, the Third World, and the Global Humanitarian Regime

This book examines global humanitarian efforts involving the two German states and Third World liberation movements during the Cold War.

Young-sun Hong (Author)

9781107479425, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 27 July 2017

443 pages, 38 b/w illus.
23 x 15.4 x 2.5 cm, 0.66 kg

'Hong shines a bright light on the selfcenteredness, cynicism, and indifference with which both Germanys sought advantage - diplomatic, but also (via cheap labor) material - from what both told themselves was a project of caring for others. Deciphering the lessons will be relevant to anyone who seeks to render global humanitarianism a more effective vehicle for challenging traditional power considerations.' Noel D. Cary, The American Historical Review

This book examines competition and collaboration among Western powers, the socialist bloc, and the Third World for control over humanitarian aid programs during the Cold War. Young-sun Hong's analysis reevaluates the established parameters of German history. On the one hand, global humanitarian efforts functioned as an arena for a three-way political power struggle. On the other, they gave rise to transnational spaces that allowed for multidimensional social and cultural encounters. Hong paints an unexpected view of the global humanitarian regime: Algerian insurgents flown to East Germany for medical care, barefoot Chinese doctors in Tanzania, and West and East German doctors working together in the Congo. She also provides a rich analysis of the experiences of African trainees and Asian nurses in the two Germanys. This book brings an urgently needed historical perspective to contemporary debates on global governance, which largely concern humanitarianism, global health, south-north relationships, and global migration.

Introduction
Part I. Race, Security, and Cold War Humanitarianism: 1. Bipolar (dis)order
Part II. The Global Humanitarian Regime at Arms: 2. Through a glass darkly
3. Mission impossible
4. Back to the future in Indochina
5. 'Solidarity is might!'
Part III. Global Health, Development, and Labor Migration: 6. Know your body and build socialism
7. The time machine 'development'
8. Far away, so close
9. Things fall apart
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], European history [HBJD]