Czechoslo akia, Eas e n Bloc
and Expe Missions o A ica.
An In oduc ion o he Special Issue1
Mikuláš Peš a
ABSTRACT
As his in oduc o y s udy a gues, s a e socialis expe s dispa ched o A ica du ing he Cold Wa
we e an impo an cu en in global ans e s o knowledge. The pape in oduces he schola ship
on socialis expe s and hei ela ions o in e na ional o ganiza ions, mode niza ion heo y and
he concep o de elopmen . Fu he mo e, i also del es in o he pe sonal expe ience o he expe s
in he place o hei posi ioning and how hey a ec ed and we e a ec ed by he en i onmen hey
we e sen o. The pape hus summa izes he s a e o a and explo es he possibili ies o whe e he
esea ch migh go om he e.
INTRODUCTION
In 1977, he g oup o Czechoslo ak expe eache s e u ned om Cai o, whe e hey
se ed a he Mili a y Technical College. Du ing he eigh een yea s o he mili a y
assis ance o he cons uc ion o he school, hund eds o Czechoslo ak expe s ook
pa in he eaching p og ams and o e saw g adua ion o housands o s uden s. The
goodbye, howe e , was a he awkwa d. As i was ex pos assessed by he commande
o he expe mission, he decision o e mina e he Czechoslo ak engagemen was
apoli ical one. Egyp was g adually amending i s ela ions o he Uni ed S a es and
cu ing i s ies o he Eas e n Bloc. The Czechoslo aks ied o hold hei posi ion o
acouple o yea s, bu e en ually, hey had o go. S ill, as he commande p oudly
s a ed, many goals o he mission we e ul illed. Acco ding o him, Czechoslo aks
managed o build amode n scien i ic acili y. “We can boldly say ha he MTC is ha
kind o school ha is indispensable o any big de eloping coun y, any coun y wi h
uly e olu iona y, an i-impe ialis , na ional-libe a ion p og am (…)” Many s u-
den s ha we e augh by Czechoslo ak expe s had al eady assumed eache s’ posi-
ions and would con inue, o some ex en , passing on he knowledge hey had lea n ,
1 The esea ch was unded by he p og am “PRIMUS (21/HUM/011): A ican and Middle
Eas e n Eli es Educa ed in o me Socialis Coun ies: S udies, T ajec o ies, and Mind-
se s” and by he “Coope a io P og am, esea ch a ea His o y”.
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8 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1–2/2021
as well as he posi i e image o Czechoslo akia.2 The knowledge he expe s le be-
hind kep p oducing ui ; and jus he same, he imp in o he en i onmen — s u-
den s, Egyp ian colleagues, local people— was b ough home o Czechoslo akia.
This case is no unique. O e he ou decades o he Cold Wa , housands o spe-
cialis s se ou o ajou ney o A ica om Czechoslo akia alone; and many mo e
came om he So ie Union, Eas Ge many, Poland, Hunga y, Romania, Bulga ia, and
Yugosla ia. Thei missions a ied in di e en imes, di e en loca ions and in e ms
o hei de elopmen al and poli ical goals, so i is no an easy ask o make gene al
assump ions o conclusions. We can say, howe e , ha he ‘expo o expe s’ om
socialis coun ies ep esen ed asigni ican cu en in he globalizing wo ld— acu -
en o knowledge ha has been hal - o go en, consciously o o he wise. I is good
o see ha in ecen yea s, ascina ing s o ies o s a e socialis expe s in A ica, Asia
and La in Ame ica ha e been edisco e ed and ein oduced in he academic en i-
onmen in publica ions and a con e ences. One such e en whe e he ma e was
ho oughly discussed was acon e ence i led Vi a A ica which ook place a Cha les
Uni e si y in P ague in Sep embe 2021. This special issue is based on wo panels
om he o he wise wide ange o opics o his A icanis con e ence— panels ha
ocused on s a e socialis expe s in A ica du ing he Cold Wa . We hank he o -
ganize s— in pa icula Voj ěch Ša še and Ma ké a Křížo á— o making he e en
happen and o coope a ion on p epa a ion o his special issue. Based on he panels,
we ha e ga he ed ou case s udies on Czechoslo ak expe s in A ica and one mo e
gene al pape on So ie eache s.
EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
The pape s in his issue conce n wi h he ma e o knowledge p oduc ion and ans-
e s o knowledge be ween he socialis coun ies and A ica du ing he Cold Wa .
They a e selec ed cases o wha can be conside ed as expe knowledge and wha ole
i could play in he de elopmen o newly decolonized A ican s a es as well as in pe -
sonal de elopmen o he people in ol ed. A he co e o hese knowledge ans e s
lied he educa ion. The wo mos impo an ways how o o wa d an academic expe -
ise was h ough incoming s uden s and ou going expe s. F om o ganiza ional poin
o iew, hese wo channels we e o en hough o as only wo i e a ions o one hing;
he socialis expe s eaching A ican s uden s, ei he in Czechoslo akia o in A ica,
depending on wha was mo e e icien . Ne e heless, he social aspec o cou se di -
e ed g ea ly.3
2 Ja omí Machač, Zp á a edoucího čs. odbo níků na MTC o ýsledcích akce MTC apozna cích
izkušenos ech zjejí ealizace. 20July 1977. Vojenský his o ický a chi — Vojenský sp á ní
a chi , ond MTC, ka 418.
3 The o opic o A ican and Thi d Wo ld s uden s in he socialis coun ies has go alo o
a en ion by esea che s ecen ly. See o example C.KATSAKIORIS, The Lumumba Uni-
e si y in Moscow. Highe Educa ion o aSo ie –Thi d Wo ld Alliance, 1960–91, in: Jou nal o
Global His o y, Vol.14, No.2, 2019, pp.281–300; J.HESSLER, Thi d Wo ld S uden s a So-
ie Uni e si ies in he B ezhne Pe iod, in: L.TOURNÈS— G.SCOTT-SMITH (eds.), Glob-
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MIkULáš PEšTA 9
T ans e s o expe knowledge could be iewed as asubca ego y o in o ma ion
exchange be ween he Eas and he Sou h. The socialis coun ies we e also ocusing
on media aimed a he Global Sou h coun ies, such as he adio b oadcas , jou nals,
and books, all o which consis ed o knowledge (in o ma ion) and we e designed o
pass on amessage o A ican eade s and lis ene s. In a ious con ac s be ween he
socialis and he ‘de eloping’ coun ies, all so s o knowledge we e exchanged— du -
ing poli ical isi s and economic nego ia ions, du ing spo s e en s, ou is ips and
you h es i als, in o ma ion and expe ience was passed on.4
The expe knowledge ha we examine he e, howe e , needs o be speci ied—
wha makes i expe ? The au ho s o an in oduc ion o he special issue conce ning
wi h ansna ional ci cula ion o s a e socialis expe s ha e se h ee c i e ia how
o de ine bea e s o expe knowledge: “Fi s , hey belong o s a e ins i u ions and
p o essional bodies which he pa y-s a e designed o be esponsible o he adminis-
a ion and policy-making in ace ain ield/subjec . Second, hey employ specialized
languages ha a e s anda dized ia scien i ic publica ions a home and ab oad. Thi d,
hey pa icipa e a ana ional and in e na ional dialogue, which was p omo ed by
di e en ools o in ellec ual exchange (jou nals, olumes, con e ences), wi h hei
pee s om o he coun ies.”5 Fo ade ini ion o an expe in gene al, we migh only
al e he i s condi ion and omi he necessi y o belonging o as a e ins i u ion.
In his issue, howe e , we employ ab oade de ini ion o as a e socialis expe .
I is ape son sen ou on amission by as a e ins i u ion bu does no necessa ily ha e
o engage in academic deba e o pu sue an academic ca ee . The expe knowledge
can be also echnical o p ac ical— wha makes i expe is he ac ha he bea e s o
such knowledge we e sen ou because hey had i and in o de o ans e i o use i .
al Exchange. Schola ships and T ansna ional Ci cula ions in he Mode n Wo ld, Be ghahn,
2018, pp.202–215; M.E.HOLEČKOVÁ, Příběh zapomenu é uni e zi y. Uni e si a 17.lis o-
padu (1961–1974) ajejí mís o českoslo enském zdělá acím sys ému aspolečnos i, P aha 2019;
S.PUGACH, A ican S uden s and he Poli ics o Race and Gende in he Ge man Democ a ic Re-
public, 1957–1990, in: Q.SLOBODIAN (ed.), Com ades o Colo . Eas Ge many in he Cold Wa
Wo ld, Ox o d 2015, pp.131–156; M.C.SCHENCK— F.RAPOSO, Socialis Encoun e s a he
School o F iendship, in: E.BURTON— A.DIETRICH— I.R.HARISCH— M.C.SCHENCK
(eds.), Na iga ing Socialis Encoun e s. Moo ings and (Dis)En anglemen s be ween A ica and
Eas Ge many du ing he Cold Wa , Be lin 2021, pp.235–246; T.RUPPRECHT, So ie In e na-
ionalism a e S alin. In e ac ion and Exchanges be ween he USSR and La in Ame ica du ing
he Cold Wa , Camb idge 2015, pp.191–229.
4 Fo knowledge ans e s / ci cula ion du ing he Cold Wa , see o example C.DERICHS,
Knowledge P oduc ion, A ea S udies and Global Coope a ion, New Yo k 2017; A.APPADURAI,
Disjunc u e and Di e ence in he Global Cul u al Economy, in: Theo y, Cul u e and Socie y,
Vol.7, No.2, 1990, p.295–310; A. LEANDER— O.WAEVER (eds.), Assembling Exclusi e
Expe ise. Knowledge, Igno ance and Con lic Resolu ion in he Global Sou h, New Yo k 2019;
A.LITTOZ-MONNET (ed.), The Poli ics o Expe ise in In e na ional O ganiza ions. How In e -
na ional Bu eauc acies P oduce and Mobilize Knowledge, London 2017
5 B.C.IACOB— C.DOBOS— R.GROSESCU— V.IACOB— V.PASCA, S a e Socialis Ex-
pe s in T ansna ional Pe spec i e. Eas Eu opean Ci cula ion o Knowledge du ing he Cold Wa
(1950s–1980s): In oduc ion o he Thema ic Issue, in: Eas Cen al Eu ope, Vol.45, No., 2018,
pp.145–159, he e 147.
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10 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1–2/2021
In his sense, we can alk abou echnicians, mili a y ins uc o s, enginee s, ag icul-
u e specialis s, eache s wi hou academic ca ee s, economis s— and s ill call hem
expe s. E en hough we ocus on hose expe s who ans e ed hei knowledge,
he e we e also hose who we e only mean o deli e a epo o ap ojec , so hey
only passed on he knowledge indi ec ly.
The use o socialis expe s was di e se. In gene al, he his o ies o he expe
knowledge a e in e linked wi h he his o y o science, de elopmen , s uden mo-
bili y and o e all wi h knowledge p oduc ion. Many we e wo king o he s a e o
Eas e n Eu opean in e na ional s uc u es, such as COMECON, o we e ne wo ked
wi h global o ganiza ions wi h scien i ic, cul u al, economic, o poli ical agendas.6
As ecen schola ship has shown, hese o ganiza ions could se e as pla o ms whe e
people om bo h Eas and Wes me and coope a ed, aspi ing o su pass o mode a e
he Cold Wa con lic . While he poli ics always played an impo an pa , hese o -
ganiza ions ce ainly acili a ed global ans e s o knowledge.7
The ole o expe ise in s a e socialis sys ems has also been ecen ly discussed
by his o ians. In away, he echnoc a ic o m o go e nmen and adminis a ion can
be iewed as he p e e ed concep among he pos -S alinis s a e socialis policy
make s. In Czechoslo akia, he scien i ic- echnical e olu ion was ho oughly dis-
cussed— and, as he au ho s o he book abou Czechoslo ak echnoc a ic go e n-
men a gue, i was an in insic pa o he 1960s e o m p ocess. The new s age o
he cons uc ion o socialism was supposed o in oduce mo e eason in he admin-
is a ion— he scien i ic and expe poli ics we e supposed o make he go e nmen
mo e e ec i e and mode n.8 And e en hough he Wa saw Pac in e en ion b ough
aswi end o he ‘P ague Sp ing’, many ideas o he echnoc a ic go e nmen o
expe s su i ed and we e u he de eloped du ing he subsequen ‘no maliza ion’
egime. The e m and concep o ‘scien i ic echnical e olu ion’, p omo ed in Czech-
oslo ak en i onmen especially by he eam a ound Rado an Rich a, su i ed he
pu ges in he Communis Pa y o Czechoslo akia (KSČ) and ‘consolida ion’ o he
new powe s uc u es.9 D awing om his ecen esea ch, Ba bo a Buzássyo á con-
nec s he hemes o Czechoslo ak e o m hough wi h he e olu ion o he concep
o de elopmen in he s udy in his special issue. Simila elemen s o ‘scien i ica ion’
o s a e adminis a ion can be obse ed also in o he coun ies o he Eas e n Bloc
and e en in capi alis coun ies, albei in a ying o ms.
6 Fo socialis expe s in in e na ional o ganiza ions, see o example L.PORTER, Cold Wa
In e na ionalisms. The USSR in UNESCO, PhD Diss., Chapel Hill 2018; B.BUZÁSSYOVÁ, So-
cialis In e na ionalism in P ac ice. Shi ing Pa e ns o he Czechoslo ak Educa ional Aid P o-
g ammes o Sub-Saha an A ica, 1961–1989, PhD Diss., B a isla a 2021; See also con ibu-
ions o he special issue o Eas Cen al Eu ope, Vol.45, No., 2018.
7 M.CHRISTIAN— S.KOTT— O.MATĚJKA, In e na ional O ganiza ions in he Cold Wa . The
Ci cula ion o Expe s beyond he Eas -Wes Di ide, in: Ac a Uni e si a is Ca olinae: S udia
Te i o ialia, Vol. No.1, 2017, pp.35–60.
8 V.SOMMER— M.SPURNÝ— J.MRŇKA, Řídi socialismus jako i mu. Technok a ické lád-
nu í Českoslo ensku, 1956–1989, P aha 2019, pp.5–13.
9 Ibid., p.57–64. Fo Rich a’s concep , see R.RICHTA e al., Ci ilizace na ozces í. Společenské
alidské sou islos i ědecko- echnické e oluce, P aha 1966.
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MIkULáš PEšTA 11
DEVELOPMENT AND THE GLOBAL COLD WAR
In he ligh o his ecen academic esea ch, i is also possible o e ame he expe
missions o he Global Sou h. In pos -socialis memo y, he en anglemen s be ween
Cen al Eas e n Eu ope and he Global Sou h “came o be conside ed, a bes , cu i-
osi ies, o , a wo s , e idence o ne a ious dic a o ships which had o n Eas e n Eu-
opean popula ions om hei ue home in Eu opean ci iliza ion”.10 E en in mo e
balanced academic akes on he global Cold Wa , s uden and expe mobili ies we e
in e p e ed as apa o he geo-s a egical policy in ended o win o e he ‘hea s and
minds’ o peoples o he decolonized wo ld, and hus also ge he uppe hand o e he
capi alis s in he ne e -ending s uggle o dominance. The poli ical aspec was e y
impo an — he e is no doub abou ha . Bu s udies o expe s anscend many pe -
spec i es in he esea ch ield o he Eas -Sou h ela ions and he e a e se e al o he
possible in e p e a ions o hem. The mos equen aming— aside om he po-
li ical one— is he look a he expe missions as he cu en s in global ans e s o
knowledge ha shape mode niza ion and globaliza ion. A ague and unde e minable
concep as i is, he mode niza ion heo y can s ill o e an explana ion o wha was
he na u e and mission o expe mobili y. We may use he aming o he mode ni-
za ion heo y, al hough challenged and c i icized, o y o comp ehend wha hese
missions we e mean o accomplish. The goal, in his iew, is o he ‘unde de eloped’
coun ies o imi a e he p ocess ha wen on in Eu ope since he Enligh enmen ,
gene ally known as ‘mode niza ion’. Unde his e m, we usually unde s and ase o
quali a i e p ocesses comp ising indus ializa ion, de elopmen o in as uc u e,
li e aliza ion and educa ion o all, es ablishmen o aci ic socie y and o apoli ical
li e, es ablishmen o aso e eign na ion-s a e, de elopmen o a ional and e i iable
scien i ic me hods, and also p og esses in o he ields o socie y. The p oblem inhe -
en ly p esen in such a aming, as well as one o he main poin s o c i ique o he
heo y, lies in he ac ha he heo y wo ks wi h explici o a leas implici supe io -
i y o p ocesses ha ha e been aking place in Eu ope. Mode niza ion as auni e sal
ecipe o he de elopmen o humankind was aco ne s one o jus i ica ions o he
impe ialis conques ; i i was Eu ope who i s walked he pa hway ha e e ybody
else has o ake, why should she no each he es how?
This line o hinking omi s he o ma i e in luence on global de elopmen by
non-Wes e n ac o s.11 I also se s he dicho omy o mu ual ela ions a he on he
No h-Sou h axis han on he Cold Wa Eas -Wes -Sou h iangle. F om his pe spec-
i e, i was no ha impo an whe he i was asocialis o acapi alis coun y ha
was sending he expe s. “F om Indonesia o I aq, a e nal socialis aid bo e much
in common wi h aid om capi alis coun ies: an emphasis on indus ializa ion and
la ge showcase p ojec s, ade e mina ion o in eg a e he Thi d Wo ld in o global
ade ne wo ks, and he applica ion o echnical expe ise,” as Da id Enge man pu
10 J.MARK— P.BETTS, In oduc ion, in: J.MARK— P.BETTS (eds.), Socialism Goes Global: The
So ie Union and Eas e n Eu ope in he Age o Decolonisa ion, Ox o d 2022, pp.1–24, he e 1.
11 S.LORENZINI, Global De elopmen . ACold Wa His o y, P ince on 2019; E.BURTON—
J.MARK— S.MARUNG, De elopmen , in J.MARK— P.BETTS (eds.), Socialism Goes Global:
The So ie Union and Eas e n Eu ope in he Age o Decolonisa ion, Ox o d 2022, pp.75–114.
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12 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1–2/2021
i .12 We can a gue whe he he e is only one, uni e sal mode ni y, o whe he we can
speak o di e en o ms o mode ni ies. So ie ideas o p og ess may ha e no been
d as ically di e en om wha was unde s ood unde he gene al e m o mode ni-
za ion. As pe A emy Kalino sky: “So ie Union claimed o be building anew wo ld
subs an ially di e en om he one ha came be o e, un e he ed o adi ion and
echnologically ad anced—in b oad ou lines, a leas , ade ini ion o mode ni y ha
was widely ecognized o he bulk o he wen ie h cen u y.”13 In bo h Eas and Wes ,
he e was aclea hie a chical ela ion in knowledge ans e s; a ela ion be ween he
one who eaches and he one who is augh . And simila ly, e en he knowledge i sel
is hie a chical— he Eu opean knowledge p oduc ion is seen as supe io . E en he
Ma xis heo y esul ed om Eu opean philosophical adi ions and i s p omo ion
as uni e sal a he expense o he local adical and e olu iona y hough could ha e
been seen as Eu opean sup emacism.14
The s a e socialis egimes na u ally ied o ame he ans e s o knowledge in
adi e en way. I was no expo ing mode niza ion as auni e sal concep , bu in-
s ead asocialis model o de elopmen — one ha is inhe en ly mode n, mo e dialec-
ically ad anced han he capi alis one. In he line o Kh ushche ’s peace ul coexis -
ence, he socialis model o de elopmen was supposed demons a e he supe io i y
o he So ie economic sys em o e he capi alis one.15 This idea o an al e na i e
mode niza ion e en ga e way o an idea o al e na i e globaliza ion, ase o economic,
poli ical and cul u al links be ween he socialis and he Global Sou h coun ies ha
seemed, a he ime, as a iable al e na i e o he libe al capi alis globaliza ion.16
One ield o socialis expe ise ha has been s udied ecen ly, is he a chi ec u e and
u ban planning. As in oduced by Jakob Ma cks in his e iew essay in his issue, we
can see he g owing schola ship and p ac ical examples o expo o a chi ec u al
models om Eas e n Eu ope o he Global Sou h.17 The impac o socialis expe s on
he de elopmen o he Global Sou h is o en ocused on enginee ing, ag icul u e, in-
dus y and o he ‘ echnical’ ields, bu i is impo an no o o ge he humani ies, as
well. As an example, we can men ion Czechoslo ak Egyp ologis s who helped sa e he
12 D.C.ENGERMAN, The Second Wo ld’s Thi d Wo ld, in: K i ika, Vol.12, No.1, 2011, pp.183–211.
13 A.KALINOVSKY, Labo a o y o Socialis De elopmen . Cold Wa Poli ics and Decoloniza ion in
So ie Tajikis an, I haka 2018, p.6.
14 Fo he concep o Ma xism as apa o Eu opean hough , see D.CHAKRABARTY, P o in-
cializing Eu ope. Pos colonial Though and His o ical Di e ence, P ince on 2000, p.3–23.
15 A.IANDOLO, The Rise and Fall o he So ie Model o De elopmen in Wes A ica, 1957–1964,
in: Cold Wa His o y, Vol.12, No.4, 2012, pp.683–704.
16 Fo elabo a ion o his concep , see J.BOCKMAN, Socialis Globaliza ion agains Capi alis
Neocolonialism. The Economic Ideas behind he New In e na ional Economic O de , in: Humani-
y: An In e na ional Jou nal o Human Righ s, Humani a ianism, and De elopmen , Vol.6,
No.1, 2015, pp.109–128; A.CALORI e al., Al e na i e Globaliza ion? Spaces and Economic In-
e ac ions be ween he ‘Socialis Camp’ and he ‘Global Sou h’, in: A.CALORI e al. (eds.), Be-
ween Eas and Sou h: Spaces o In e ac ion in he Globalizing Economy o he Cold Wa , Be lin
2019, pp.1–31; J.MARK— A.M.KALINOVSKY— S.MARUNG (eds)., Al e na i e Globali-
za ions: Eas e n Eu ope and he Pos colonial Wo ld, Blooming on 2020.
17 L.STANEK, A chi ec u e in Global Socialism. Eas e n Eu ope, Wes A ica, and he Middle Eas
in he Cold Wa , P ince on 2020.
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MIkULáš PEšTA 13
a chaeo logical si es in Lowe Nubia abou o be looded by he new Aswan Dam.18 Bu
he knowledge was also ans e ed in he ields o his o y, philosophy, o linguis ics.19
EXPERT MISSIONS AND STATE SOCIALISM
The image o de elopmen ha is bo h socialis and mode n, howe e , played an im-
po an pa in he Eas -Sou h ela ions. In he cul u al diplomacy owa ds A ica,
Czechoslo akia in ensi ely p omo ed an image o i sel as acoun y wi h e ec i e
poli ical and economic sys em, wi h mode n and unc ional heal hca e and educa-
ion, and wi h ich cul u e and his o y a he same ime.20 The expe ise ha was sold
o A ican coun ies— li e ally o igu a i ely— was labelled he same: mode n, p o-
g essi e, and a he same ime socialis , an i-capi alis . Elizabe h Bishop, he au ho
o a hesis conce ning wi h pe haps he bigges de elopmen al p ojec ealized wi h
he help o socialis expe s in he Thi d Wo ld— he Aswan High Dam in Egyp —
w o e ha “jus like hei con empo a ies, Michu inis biologis s, So ie hyd oelec-
ic enginee s amed hei wo k as dis inc i ely p og essi e and an i-capi alis . So-
ie enginee s con as ed hei in ellec ual and p ac ical wo k wi h ha o capi alis
enginee s, whose wo k in Egyp be ayed hei colonialis aims.”21 One o Czechoslo-
ak expe s ha had e u ned om he Mili a y Technical College in Cai o, said in his
assessing pape : “The main success o ou ac i i y in Egyp was ha o housands o
s uden s, we p esen ed anew man— socialis ically hinking man, and socialis ically
ac ing man. Aman wi hou pe sonal in e es s, who seeks o p o ide all he in o ma-
ion he can o he good o he coun y ha hos s him. How di e en his was o he
local eache s Ihad he oppo uni y o mee . Fo hem, eaching i sel came las .”22 As
shown by Cons an in Ka sakio is in his issue, he socialis language and opes we e
ac ucial pa o he impo ed knowledge.
The de elopmen , as we can see, was e y much apoli ical business. As e balized
by Enge man, he de elopmen aid “ul ima ely unc ioned no as jus as anew ool o
18 M.VERNER, Obje o ání s a ého Egyp a. Půls ole í českých egyp ologických ýzkumů e s ínu
py amid, P aha 2008, p.25–93.
19 Fo acase o aCzechoslo ak philosophe in Ghana in he con ex o Czechoslo ak de el-
opmen p og ams, see J.KOURA, Socialis expe s in Nk umah’s Ghana, in J.KORANYI—
J.KOURA— B.STRUCK, Mode n Eu ope. AT ansna ional His o y, o hcoming; See also he
philosophe ’s memoi s: E.MENERT, Na Západ od Londýna, P aha 1967.
20 See o example Czechoslo ak p opaga ional jou nals dis ibu ed in A ica, such as Soli-
da i y o Czechoslo ak Li e.
21 E.BISHOP, Talking Shop. Egyp ian Enginee s and So ie Specialis a Aswan High Dam, PhD
diss., Uni e si y o Chicago 1997, p.5.
22 Mojmí Cenek, Vědecká příp a a a abských asis en ů, ědecko- ýzkumná spolup áci sos a -
ními školami, ús a y azá ody. P o okol ome odickém zaměs nání k yhodnocení akce MTC,
30.4.1978, VSA, . VAAZ, ka 418. See also M.PEŠTA, Expe Knowledge and Socialis Vi ues.
Czechoslo ak Mili a y Specialis s in he Global Sou h, in: K.ROTH-EY (ed.), Second-Thi d Wo ld
Spaces in he Cold Wa : Global Socialism and he G i y Poli ics o he Pa icula , London, o h-
coming.
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14 PRAGUE PAPERS ON THE HISTORY OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1–2/2021
o eign policy; i helped shape new pa e ns o ela ions be ween na ions.”23 Building
on his esea ch, Małgo za a Mazu ek w o e ha he de elopmen poli ics, mean-
ing “ he no el mix o in e na ional ela ions, expe ise, and inancial assis ance ha
eme ged du ing he global Cold Wa , did no only conce n he e ec i e deploymen
o echnical expe ise,” sugges ing ha i had g ea diploma ic signi icance.24 When
ying o de ine wha he socialis expe ise was, he au ho s o he abo e men ioned
in oduc ion o he special issue s a ed: “We concei e expe ise and poli ics o be i e-
ducible because hey a e engaged in amu ually ein o cing dynamic o co-p oducing
knowledge and policy”25
Fo Czechoslo akia, expe missions we e indeed a e y impo an pa o he
o eign policy owa ds A ica. A1971 de ini ion o aCzechoslo ak expe said ha
“an expe is no only ahighly quali ied specialis , bu also apoli ical ep esen a-
i e o socialis Czechoslo akia ab oad. (…) I is impo an ha he expe is able o
explain Czechoslo ak socialis eali y in o eign language and con on i co ec ly
wi h o he , non-socialis sys ems.”26 The p ocess o choosing, as desc ibed by Jakub
Mazanec in his issue, ook in o accoun he p o essional expe ise, he language
skills, and poli ical eliabili y— e en he c i e ia we e no always me .27 The chie
o he expe mission a he MTC in Cai o epea edly emphasized ha expe s ep-
esen Czechoslo akia and socialism and mus beha e acco dingly. “An indi isible
pa o ou mission is ou a i ude o p oblem-sol ing, pe sonal example in wo k
and se iousness in dealing wi h pa ne s. We ha e o make socialism a ac i e o
ou pa ne s and emain down o ea h abou he pace o i s implemen a ion. Ou
wo ds mus ma ch ou deeds, in wo k and beha iou we mus show delibe a ion,
p inciples, ac , indus iousness, o ganiza ion, planning, consis ency, decisi eness,
and a esolu e and ac i e s ance owa d socialism. Do no unde es ima e he pa ne s
and do no le i seem like you do. We do no only ha e expe asks he e.”28 When as-
sessing he expe s in hindsigh , he las chie o he mission in Cai o s a ed ha he
“ideal expe was physically ac i e, middle aged, p o essional, poli ically conscious,
lexible, psychologically balanced, language skilled.”29 No only he expe ise, and
23 D.C.ENGERMAN, De elopmen Poli ics and he Cold Wa , in: Diploma ic His o y, Vol.41,
No.1, 2017, pp.
24 M.MAZUREK, Polish Economis s in Neh u’s India. Making Science o he Thi d Wo ld in an E a
o De-S aliniza ion and Decoloniza ion, in: Sla ic Re iew, Vol.77, No.3, 2018, pp.588–610.
25 IACOB (e al.), S a e Socialis Expe s in T ansna ional Pe spec i e, p.148.
26 Quo ed in HOLEČKOVÁ, Příběh zapomenu é uni e si y, p.65.
27 See also B.BUZÁSSYOVÁ, Building and Tes ing T us Wi hin aSocialis Dic a o ship: The Case
o Czecho-Slo ak Expe s in A ica P e- and Pos -1968, in: Fo um His o iae, Vol.15, No.2,
2021, pp.69–85. Fo he case o Eas Ge man medical expe s, see I.BOROWY, Medicine,
Economics and Fo eign Policy. Eas Ge man Medical Academics in he Global Sou h du ing he
1950s and 1960s, in: P.E.MUEHLENBECK— N.TELEPNEVA (eds.), Wa saw Pac In e en-
ion in he Thi d Wo ld. Aid and In luence in he Cold Wa , London 2018, pp.173–196.
28 Jose Vosáhlo, ‘Zkušenos i zp áce edoucího čs. odbo níků na MTC’, 12.4.1973, VSA, .
VAAZ, ka 419.
29 Ja omí Machač, Zp á a edoucího čs. odbo níků na MTC o ýsledcích akce MTC
apozna cích izkušenos ech zjejí ealizace’ ‘P o okol ome odickém zaměs nání k yhod-
nocení akce MTC’, 30.4.1978, VSA, . VAAZ, ka 418.
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MIkULáš PEšTA 15
e en no only he poli ical p o ile, as we can see, we e conside ed impo an o make
he igh imp ession on he pa ne ins i u ion.
The impo ance o expe s’ pe ec ep esen a ion migh be pu in ab oade con-
ex o in e na ional economic ela ions. In his explana ion, i was he economics
ha se he cou se o de elopmen alism as well as he al e na i e globaliza ion. As i is
a gued, he cul u al diplomacy, de elopmen al aid, and expe s’ exempla y beha iou
we e mean no only o p omo e socialism, bu also o b ing home he much-desi ed
ha d cu ency. In he case o Czechoslo akia, i was he o eign ade co po a ions
subo dina ed o he Minis y o Fo eign T ade ha a anged and nego ia ed he ex-
pe missions. These semi-au onomous co po a ions we e licensed wi h monopolies
o impo o expo ce ain so s o goods. The expe s we e o en handled by he o -
eign ade co po a ion o Poly echna, apowe ul o ganiza ion wi h i s own ne wo k
o agen s supe ising he labou o i s wo ke s ab oad. Ano he such o ganiza ion
was Omnipol and Hla ní echnická sp á a (Main Technical Adminis a ion), asked
wi h handling expo o a ms and mili a y echnology. These co po a ions had o all
in line wi h o icial diploma ic di ec i es o he Czechoslo ak s a e, bu sough mo e
independence and lexibili y a he same ime. A e he i s wa e o en husias ic
in e na ionalism o he ea ly 1960s aded, he Minis y o Fo eign T ade aspi ed o
make he expo mo e p o i able and demanded mo e au onomy on o he minis ies.
In he iew o he Fo eign T ade, he goal o expo was an economic one, which
mean selling o he highes bidde , e en i i was acapi alis coun y.30 Howe e ,
e en hough we can see aclea shi owa d mo e economy-o ien ed line in he la e
1960s and on, he poli ics always had asay in he ade, especially in s a egic ma-
e ials and goods. Ba bo a Buzássyo á assessed ha his u n o amo e p agma ic,
p o i -o ien ed line and allback om in e na ionalism in expe missions came
g adually o e he 1960s.31
Dealing wi h ans e s o knowledge, we ha e o also hink abou he ac o s. Be-
sides he expe s hemsel es, he e we e se e al ins i u ions in ol ed on he sending
side— no jus he s a es hemsel es. E en hough in s a e socialis coun ies, he
s a e and pa y adminis a ions g ew h ough each o he and in luenced immensely
all poli ical and socio-economic li e, indi idual ins i u ions wi hin hem could ha e
had hei own agendas o p e e ences. The uni e si ies we e closely con olled by he
s a e and pa y appa a us, bu hey also had hei in e na ional ne wo ks and we e
in ol ed in ans-bloc scien i ic exchange.32 In Czech en i onmen , we ha e seen ac-
coun s ha amed he Czech Technical Uni e si y o he Czechoslo ak Academy o
30 D.RICHTEROVA— M.PEŠTA— N.TELEPNEVA, Banking on Mili a y Assis ance. Czechoslo-
akia’s S uggle o In luence and P o i in he Thi d Wo ld, 1955–1968, in: In e na ional His-
o y Re iew, Vol.43, No.1, 2021, pp.90–108.
31 B.BUZÁSSYOVÁ, Od in e nacionalis ickej pomoci kp agma ickej spolup áci. P io i y českoslo -
enského „expe ního po adens a“ oblas i edy a zdelá ania p e k ajiny A iky p iebehu
60.a70. oko , in: His o ický časopis, Vol.69, No.1, 2021, pp.119–146.
32 CHRISTIAN — KOTT — MATĚJKA, In e na ional O ganiza ions in he Cold Wa .;
M.SOLOVEY— H.CRAVENS (eds.), Cold Wa Social Science: Knowledge P oduc ion, Libe -
al Democ acy, and Human Na u e, New Yo k 2012; MIKKONEN— P.KOIVUNEN, In oduc-
ion, in: S.MIKKONEN— P.KOIVUNEN (eds.), Beyond he Di ide. En angled His o ies o Cold
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