The Power of Philanthropy: Development, Empire, and Non-State Actors in Cold War Colombia, 1961-1973

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the formation and exertion of philanthropy&rsquo;s soft power in U.S. Cold War development policies in Colombia during President John F. Kennedy&rsquo;s Alliance for Progress era from 1961-1973. Specifically, the examination of the Rockefeller Foundation&rsquo;s, the Ford Foundation&rsquo;s, and the Population Council&rsquo;s interventions in population control, basic, vocational, and higher education reforms, and mass media development illuminate aid recipients&rsquo; active decision-making that provided the essential permission and support for U.S. philanthropies&rsquo; power exertion abroad. Philanthropies&rsquo; perceived power on the outside (contextual power) is assembled differently from its operational capacity on the ground (architectural power). Moreover, their high-level political and intellectual capital (executive power) usually does not translate directly into the ability to engage local resources in aid execution (execution power). Unraveling the various forms of &ldquo;soft power&rdquo; redirects the scholarly comprehension of modernization from an intellectual discourse to a series of dynamic social engagements. It, furthermore, includes a wider cast of actors, including Colombian bureaucrats and university students, private foundation staff, and academics, in the consideration of the current &ldquo;NGO Republic&rdquo; that is at the center of global politics. Instead of a monolithic extension of the U.S. government or a cast of charitable &ldquo;good doers,&rdquo; this dissertation demonstrates the &ldquo;collaborative empire&rdquo; that is a cocreation between U.S. philanthropies and their Colombian partners. The lessons extracted about effective public-private partnerships and philanthropic power yield valuable insights into contemporary international development and community-oriented giving.</p