Transnational Anti-Communism and the Cold War: Agents, Activities, and Networks (Palgrave Macmillan Transnational History Series)

The editors are indebted to many individuals for their contributions to the conference and to this volume. Claude Hauser and Damir Skenderovic, Professors of Contemporary History at the University of Fribourg, supported the conference and book project throughout and helped with their inspiring suggestions. The conference organizers owe a special note of thanks to the long-suffering and experienced conference assistant, Dr Grzegorz Sienkiewicz, who ably solved any technical and practical problems and whose dedication to the event was appreciated by everyone. The editors also benefited from the diligent work of Duncan Brown (Unlimited Edition) who prepared the translation of several chapters from French and German into English. Finally, the editors would especially like to thank Marc Roulin for producing the cover image (http://www.m-roulin.ch). Front Matter....Pages i-xvi Introduction....Pages 1-19 Front Matter....Pages 21-21 The American Society of African Culture: The CIA and Transnational Networks of African Diaspora Intellectuals in the Cold War....Pages 23-34 The Nordic Trade Union Movement and Transnational Anti-Communist Networks in the Early Cold War....Pages 35-49 “Brother Tronchet”: A Swiss Trade Union Leader within the US Sphere of Influence....Pages 50-63 Not an “Ugly American”: Sal Tas, a Dutch Reporter as Agent of the West in Africa....Pages 64-77 Front Matter....Pages 79-79 Paix et liberté: A Transnational Anti-Communist Network....Pages 81-95 The Assembly of Captive European Nations: A Transnational Organization and Tool of Anti-Communist Propaganda....Pages 96-112 The World Anti-Communist League: Origins, Structures and Activities....Pages 113-129 Interdoc, Western Anti-Communism and the Transnational Imperative....Pages 130-145 The Heyday of Britain’s Cold War Think Tank: Brian Crozier and the Institute for the Study of Conflict, 1970–79....Pages 146-160 A Global Crusade against Communism: The Cercle in the “Second Cold War”....Pages 161-174 Front Matter....Pages 175-175 The Sovietology of Józef M. Bocheński: Transnational Activism in Catholic Switzerland, 1955–65....Pages 177-188 Suzanne Labin: Fifty Years of Anti-Communist Agitation....Pages 189-200 The Mont Pèlerin Society and the Rise of a Postwar Classical Liberal Counter-Establishment....Pages 201-217 Better Dead Than Red: Wilhelm Röpke, a Neoliberal Anti-Communist on All Fronts....Pages 218-232 Front Matter....Pages 233-233 Transnational Fundamentalist Anti-Communism: The International Council of Christian Churches....Pages 235-250 The Comité international de défense de la civilisation chrétienne and the Transnationalization of Anti-Communist Propaganda in Western Europe after the Second World War....Pages 251-262 Bible Smuggling and Human Rights in the Cold War....Pages 263-275 Back Matter....Pages 276-292 How was anti-communism organised in the West? This book covers the agents, aims, and arguments of various transnational anti-communist activists during the Cold War. Existing narratives often place the United States - and especially the CIA - at the centre of anti-communist activity. The book instead opens up new fields of research transnationally. How was anti-communism organized in the West? Was it all run by the CIA? The book covers the aims, arguments and associations of a range of transnational anti-communist activists during the Cold War. While the CIA were obviously important, other motives, interests and financial sources were available. The contributors of this volume open up new fields of research to explore how far anti-communism was actually planned, coordinated and structured across Western nations. By taking a transnational approach, the book moves beyond simply reducing anti-communist activities to the interests of governments and instead focuses on the role of individuals and private networks, how they organized themselves and how they pursued their own interests. While Cold Warriors in both the US and Europe called for an anti-communist 'crusade', various factors - geopolitical interests, elitist prejudices, ideological divisions, religious beliefs - were influential in fuelling activism. This volume demonstrates the complex array of forces, factions and frictions that were active during the Cold War, and shows that Western anti-communism, despite its apparently straightforward goal to oppose Soviet power, moved along many different paths simultaneously