Many researchers already investigated the international dimension of development planning, its influence on postcolonial national economies in the Global South and the involvement of international donor organizations in economic and foreign politics. Besides that, knowledge about the economies in developing countries from a domestic perspective is still fragmented. Even though the relevance of business records of international corporations from the Global North for understanding postcolonial national economies has been demonstrated, an in-depth look into the economy of state-owned enterprises is still missing.
Often created as devices to stimulate development on the one hand and to protect vital sectors from foreign profit interests on the other hand, their history presents an entry point to a better understanding of the relationship between development planning economics, the state-building processes and the transformation of societies.
With this workshop, Marie aims at connecting ongoing projects and facilitating new collaborations – which is of special importance in these times of mobility and resource constraints. For the organization she received seedfunding from the Humboldt-Universtät zu Berlin to prepare an application for an ERC Starting Grant. The new project is based on insights from her current project, a corporate history of the multinational airline Air Afrique, which is part of the Priority Programme “Experience and Expectation”, funded by the German Research Foundation.
We hope that this workshop will provide everyone with new research impulses. At the same time, we like to think of this workshop as a way to find new ways of scholarly exchange and encounter in the digital age.