Janek Wasserman

The World that Central Europeans Created: How A Group of Economists Reimagined their Region, the Global South, and the World

This project explores the role played by Central European social scientists in engendering economic cooperation and development around the world during the twentieth century. Austrian and German actors contributed to international institutions such as the League of Nations, United Nations, International Labour Organization, and World Bank and philanthropic organizations such as the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, envisaging regional customs unions, international industrialization zones, and trade agreements to reconstruct postwar and post-imperial landscapes. Many of these actors pushed back against economic nationalism in the name of free trade, open borders, and international peace, while also advancing a commitment to more than just modernization but also the development of human capabilities, economic opportunities, and global justice. The Botstiber Grant will fund archival work at these organizations and others in New York, Washington, DC, Geneva, and Vienna.