'Défendre l'oeuvre que nous réalisons en Afrique': Belgian Public Diplomacy and the Global Cold War (1945–1966). (2nd January 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gerits, Frank
• Is Part Of: Dutch crossing. Volume 40:Number 1(2016)
• Page Start: 68
• Page End: 80
• Publication Date: 2016-01-02
• Subjects: public diplomacy -- cultural assistance -- Congo; Netherlands -- Periodicals; 949.2005
• DOI: 10.1080/03096564.2016.1129194
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0309-6564

Abstract

Abstract : Between 1945 and 1966, Belgian public diplomacy operatives turned Africa into their principal target area. Scholars have alternately seen Belgian foreign policy as driven by the quest to safeguard economic interests while also emphasizing the skill with which Belgian foreign ministers increased the influence of Belgium within the Transatlantic partnership. As a result, the use of public diplomacy and the impact of colonialism on foreign policy is under-researched. However, the study of the archives of Inforcongo, Inbel and the Belgian Information Centre in New York allows for a better understanding of the close connections between Belgian public diplomacy and the changing views on development which shifted in the course of the 1950s and 1960s.