Student Internationalism and the Global Cold War - (Histories of Internationalism) by Mikulás Pesta (Hardcover)

About the Book

The history of the International Union of Students, focusing on cooperation between the Cold War's three worlds and its role in the development of global socialism.

Book Synopsis

This open access book tells the history of the International Union of Students, providing a fascinating account of a significant but understudied vehicle of internationalism amidst the Global Cold War. Focusing on three main themes; student internationalism, decolonization, and socialist transnationalism, it draws on a vast array of archival sources to explore cooperation and exchange between the Cold war's three worlds, and the role of the organization in developing global socialism.

Centring Prague as a key co-ordinating centre of Cold War internationalisms and with an international focus on student organisations, Pesta contextualises the legacy and impact of student internationalism in the twentieth century. Paying particular attention to the role of 'Third World' delegates who communicated and legitimised topics such as colonialism, racism, global inequality and national liberation, it shows how the language and agenda of the IUS changed over time, and how the organization struggled to find its place after the end of the Cold War in 1989.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com. Open access was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation.

Review Quotes

"In his meticulously researched book, Mikulás Pesta takes us to socialist Prague, home to the International Union of Students and a global hub for student activism. This work is a long-awaited addition to the Cold War historiography and essential reading for anyone interested in student internationalism and the global Cold War." --Pia Koivunen, Senior Lecturer, University of Turku, Finland

"In 1967, the pro-West International Student Conference collapsed after revelations of CIA funding. Its rival, the International Union of Students, did not survive the later loss of Socialist bloc funding. Both had masters, but neither were puppets. Pesta masterfully documents the complexities of the IUS relationship with the Soviet bloc, as well as the organization's global significance." --Karen M. Paget, author of Patriotic Betrayal

About the Author

Mikulás Pesta is a researcher at the Institute of Contemporary History, Czech Academy of Sciences, and Assistant Professor at the Institute of History, Charles University, Prague, Czechia. His research focuses on the history of internationalism, student movement, East-South relations and political violence in the Cold War.