Papers and Book Chapters by Corinne A. Pernet
Heinrich Hartmann and Julia Tischler, Eds., Planting Seeds of Knowledge Agriculture and Education in Rural Societies in the Twentieth Century (Berghahn Books 2023); , 2023
Superar lo mejor was the somewhat ambiguous slogan of the 1966 Inter-American Rural Youth Congres... more Superar lo mejor was the somewhat ambiguous slogan of the 1966 Inter-American Rural Youth Congress for young rural leaders that was hosted in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The slogan was an allusion to the motto of the US 4-H youth clubs, 'To make the best better'. However, superar literally means to overcome an obstacle, challenge or opponent, so that the slogan could also be read as 'to overcome the best' , emphasizing effort and competition under difficult conditions. The conference was organized by the Inter-American Program for Rural Youth, better known by its Spanish-language abbreviation PIJR (Programa Interamericano para la Juventud Rural). Headquartered in Costa Rica, the PIJR was established in 1960 as an attempt to federate and give visibility to rural youth movements in Latin America that sought to instil modern agricultural methods and turn the countryside into a productive asset and source of wealth. The conference welcomed high-level speakers, including the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, representatives from the Organization of American States (OAS) and agricultural supply companies, specialists in agricultural extension work and, most importantly, delegations from rural youth clubs, most of which were modelled on the US 4-H clubs. 1 Having first spread in the United States at the beginning of the twentieth century, the 4-H clubs for rural children and young adults were quintessentially structured as a private-public partnership. Founded and run by landgrant colleges in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), they also relied on close ties with the private sector for financial support and expertise. The pledge undertaken by the young club members explained what 4-H represented: 'I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, and my health to better living, for my club, my community, my country. ' Head, heart and hands were thus to work together in the acquisition und utilization of technological prowess in agriculture (for the boys) and homemaking (for the girls), all in pursuit
100 Years of Multilateralism in Geneva. From the LoN to the UN. Edited by Olga Hidalgo-Weber and Bernard Lescaze., 2020
ISBN: 2-940031-69-X
Bulletin Verein Schweizerischer GeschichtslehrerInnen, 2020
Heute, zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts, ist eine organisierte Zusammenarbeit aller Staaten des ame... more Heute, zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts, ist eine organisierte Zusammenarbeit aller Staaten des amerikanischen Doppelkontinents in weite Ferne gerückt. Regionale Kooperationen funktionieren nur mehr oder weniger gut. Ende des 19. und in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts hatte man da andere Vorstellungen. Panamerikanismus-dieser Begriff ist in unserer Zeit nicht mehr geläufig. Sportfans kennen allenfalls die Pan American Games, eine Art regionaler Olympiade, und die älteren Semester können sich noch an die Pan-American Airways mit ihrem modernistischen, blauen Logo erinnern. Den Abenteurern ist vielleicht die Panamericana, die (fast) durchgehende Schnellstrasse zwischen Patagonien und Alaska ein Begriff-aber sonst kann man heute nur laue Identifikation mit dem hemisphärischen Konzept feststellen. Trotzdem ist es lohnend, sich mit dem Panamerikanismus auseinanderzusetzen: Zwischen dem späten 19. und der Mitte des 20. Jahrhunderts stand diese Ideologie für den Versuch, die Kooperation der Staaten in der westlichen Hemisphäre zu stärken. Obwohl allen Beteiligten klar war, dass die USA mit ihrer führenden Rolle in den panamerikanischen Institutionen ihre politischen und wirtschaftlichen Interessen verfolgten, fungierten diese Institutionen auch als Kontakt-und Verhandlungszone, die auch für die lateinamerikanischen Akteure durchaus interessant war.
La Revista - Sociedad Suiza de Americanistas, 2020
Introduction to a special issue of the Revista, the journal of the Swiss Society of Americanists,... more Introduction to a special issue of the Revista, the journal of the Swiss Society of Americanists, SSA. The issue contains articles of members of the SSLAS, Swiss School of Latin American Studies.
Gives a brief overview of the development of the field in Switzerland and the challenges it faces and introduces articles.
International History Review
While much of the historical literature on FAO has adopted a headquarter perspective, this articl... more While much of the historical literature on FAO has adopted a headquarter perspective, this article examines FAO's nutrition activities in Central America from the vantage point of a field worker stationed in the region during the 1950s. Emma Reh's professional background broadens our understanding of the careers of staff members in international organizations and makes visible the connections between the US Indian Bureau and development work. Correspondence and field reports shed light on FAO's difficulties in establishing a strong presence in Central America. Moreover, the article shows that dietary surveys with their socio-economic perspectives on nutrition were underfunded as well as marginalized in the processes of knowledge production and diffusion while a medicalized approach to nutrition took hold at the FAO Nutrition Division. In the early1960s, the FAO Nutrition Division returned to a less reductive view on nutrition.
International History Review, 2018
As far as international organizations and their written histories are concerned, the United Natio... more As far as international organizations and their written histories are concerned, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, presents quite a paradox. Though in its early years, the organization itself as well as individual staff members were determined to document and narrate FAO’s history, sixty years later many aspects of FAO’s history remain largely unknown. The following articles re-examine the history of FAO through a range of new perspectives that shed light on the intellectual roots of rural development ideas within the organization and illuminate the context of specific development missions, as well as the transnational flows of knowledge and expertise.
in Bernhard Gißibl and Isabella Löhr (eds.), Bessere Welten: Kosmopolitismus in den Geschichtswis... more in Bernhard Gißibl and Isabella Löhr (eds.), Bessere Welten: Kosmopolitismus in den Geschichtswissenschaften, Campus Verlag 2017, p. 253-279.
Please send a message if you're interested in the paper. Thanks.
In the history of development ... more Please send a message if you're interested in the paper. Thanks.
In the history of development there has been a tendency to attribute developmental initiatives to coordinating centres in the global north and view countries in the south as recipients, a phenomenon that continues to the present day. The Central
American Nutrition Institute (INCAP) is by contrast an example of a regional institution that not only generated a considerable body of knowledge concerning the nutritional state of the region and policy proposals but also advocated an alternative
development model emphasizing local resources. Although INCAP enjoyed some success in disseminating a number of its ideas through international organisations, the implementation of its vision was ultimately hampered by the unstable political
situation prevailing in Central America in the time period analyzed in this article.
appeared in:
Sönke Kunkel, Corinna Unger und Marc Frey, eds., International Organizations and De... more appeared in:
Sönke Kunkel, Corinna Unger und Marc Frey, eds., International Organizations and Development, 1945-1990, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, p.101-125.
Beyond Geopolitics: Latin America at the League of Nations
Journal of Modern European HIstory, Sep 1, 2014
Mesoamérica, 2015
Resumen Este artículo ofrece una breve introducción a las investigaciones en este dossier y su or... more Resumen Este artículo ofrece una breve introducción a las investigaciones en este dossier y su organización conceptual. Las obras se desarrollaron a partir de una conferencia interdis-ciplinaria que organizamos en noviembre de 2013 en la Universidad de Berna, Suiza, para examinar los imaginarios, discursos y prácticas de desarrollo en Centroamérica, especial-mente para el período posterior a 1945. En conjunto, las investigaciones sugieren que la política y el discurso —incluso el discurso poético— no se pueden desentrañar completa-mente, ya que la producción del conocimiento y su compromiso han sido fundamentales en los debates sobre el desarrollo. Dicho esto, estas obras apuntan la necesidad de profun-dizar la investigación sobre la percepción popular de las nociones, políticas y proyectos que dan forma a la idea de desarrollo en la región.
DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA: MODELS, DEBATES, PRACTICES AND IMAGINARIES
Abstract
This article offers a brief introduction to the research in this dossier and its conceptual organization. The works emerged out of an interdisciplinary conference we organized in November 2013 at the University of Berne, Switzerland to examine development
imaginaries, discourses and practices in Central America for the period after 1945. Taken together, the research suggests that policy and discourse—even poetic discourse— cannot be fully disentangled since the production of knowledge and its engagement have proven central to debates over development. That said, these works suggest the need further study on the popular perception of the notions, policies and projects that give form to the idea of development in the region.
This paper deals with UNICEF's role shaping food policy in Central America during the Cold War. I... more This paper deals with UNICEF's role shaping food policy in Central America during the Cold War. It details UNICEF's slow transformation from a purely humanitarian to development-oriented organization.
SZG/RSH/RSS 64, 2014, Nr. 2, Sep 2014
Journal of Latin American Studies, Vol. 45 No. 4, pp. 641-668, 2013
After the world food crisis of the early 1970s, food policies became a ‘national priority’ for Co... more After the world food crisis of the early 1970s, food policies became a ‘national priority’ for Colombian development. Colombia was the first country to implement the multi-sectoral approach proposed by international organisations. However, in the past 30 years Colombian governments have presented nutrition as a minor health issue. During the recent world food crisis, the government insisted that Colombia was one of the most food-secure countries in the world. In seemingly similar circumstances, why was food policy made a priority in the 1970s and not in the new millennium? We address this question with the help of securitisation theory. We argue that in the 1970s, the government successfully securitised the food issue in the context of a reduction of external food aid and a failed land reform. Recent national governments (as opposed to some local governments) have had little interest in a securitising move since the related food sovereignty discourses threaten their free market policies.Tras la crisis mundial de alimentos de principios de los años 70, las políticas alimentarias se hicieron una ‘prioridad nacional’ para el desarrollo colombiano. Fue el primer país en implementar un enfoque multisectorial propuesto por organizaciones internacionales. Sin embargo, en los últimos 30 años los gobiernos colombianos han visto a la nutrición como un asunto de salud de menor importancia. Durante la reciente crisis alimentaria mundial, el gobierno insistió que Colombia era uno de los países con mayor seguridad alimentaria. Con circunstancias aparentemente similares, ¿por qué las políticas alimentarias fueron una prioridad en los 70 y no en el nuevo milenio? Abordamos la pregunta con la ayuda de la teoría de la securitización. Sostenemos que en los 70 el gobierno logró securitizar el tema de la alimentación en el contexto de una reducción de la ayuda exterior alimentaria y de una fallida reforma agraria. Gobiernos nacionales recientes (al contrario de algunos gobiernos locales) han tenido poco interés en retomar esta tendencia ya que los discursos relacionados de la soberanía alimentaria amenazan sus políticas de libre mercado.Após a crise mundial de alimentos do início da década de 1970, políticas relacionadas a alimentação tornaram-se uma ‘prioridade nacional’ para o avanço do desenvolvimento colombiano. A Colômbia foi o primeiro país a implementar a abordagem multi-setorial proposta por organizações internacionais. Contudo, nos últimos trinta anos, os governos colombianos têm encarado a nutrição como um problema de saúde secundário. Durante a recente crise mundial de alimentos, o governo insistiu que a Colômbia era um dos países com maior segurança alimentar. Em circunstâncias aparentemente parecidas, por que a política alimentar foi tratada como prioridade no início da década de 1970 e não no novo milênio? Trataremos esta questão com o auxílio da teoria da securitização. Propomos que na década de 1970, o governo securitizou a questão alimentar com êxito no contexto de uma redução na assistência alimentícia internacional e de uma reforma agrária fracassada. Os governos nacionais recentes (ao contrário de alguns governos locais) têm demonstrado pouco interesse em dar um passo em direção à securitização, devido ao fato de que os discursos relacionados à soberania alimentar ameaçam suas políticas de livre mercado.
Note: Please note that these are the printing proofs of the paper. There are no significant ch... more Note: Please note that these are the printing proofs of the paper. There are no significant changes in the text, a comma or two, however, Berghahn added the words "Popular Arts" to the title..!
In: Traverse – Zeitschrift für Geschichte, 2 (2013), p. 98-108.
Im Januar 1929 schaute Robert Hercod, der bekannte Schweizer Temperenz-Aktivist und Direktor des ... more Im Januar 1929 schaute Robert Hercod, der bekannte Schweizer Temperenz-Aktivist und Direktor des zivilgesellschaftlichen Internationalen Büros zur Bekämpfung des Alkoholismus, zuversichtlich in die Zukunft. Jahrelang hatte er dafür gekämpft, dass sich der Völkerbund als wichtigste internationale Organisation der Zwischenkriegszeit dem Thema der Trunksucht annehmen würde und sah sich nun seinem Ziel endlich nahe: «Wir sind überzeugt», schrieb Hercod in einer einschlägigen Zeitschrift, «dass der Völkerbund eine Alkoholismus-Kommission gründen wird.» 1 Das schien nicht abwegig zu sein, da der Völkerbund sein Mandat zur Erhaltung des politischen Friedens im Lauf der 1920er-Jahre immer grosszügiger auslegte. Der Völkerbund und die mit ihm assoziierte Internationale Arbeitsorganisation (IAO) betrachteten den sozialen Frieden als Voraussetzung für eine nachhaltige politische Beruhigung und engagierten sich deswegen zunehmend im Bereich der öffentlichen Wohlfahrt. 2 Im Europa der 1920er-Jahre war die Alkoholfrage immer noch sehr präsent, vor allem was das Trinkverhalten der ArbeiterInnen anging. Nicht nur bürgerliche Kreise und die Kirche zeigten sich besorgt über die proletarischen Trinkgewohnheiten. Vielerorts waren es auch die Arbeiter parteien und Gewerkschaften, die versuchten, die Genossen von Alkoholexzessen abzuhalten. 3 Abgesehen von lokalen und nationalen Bemühungen schlossen sich Temperenz-und Abstinenzvereine auch auf internationaler Ebene zusammen, wie zum Beispiel in Hercods Internationalem Büro zur Bekämpfung des Alkoholismus. Wie andere Nichtregierungsorganisationen versuchte das Büro, sein Anliegen beim Völkerbund zu platzieren, aber Hercod täuschte sich über seine vermeintlichen Erfolge. Denn der Völkerbund nahm sich kaum des Themas an und setzte trotz der bekannten individuellen und sozialen Folgen der Alkoholsucht nie eine Alkoholismus-Kommission ein. Dieser Schwerpunkt-Beitrag nimmt sich der Frage nach dem Umgang mit dem Thema Alkoholismus in Völkerbund und IAO an und fragt auch danach, inwiefern dieses Thema die neueren Interpretationen des Völkerbunds als Pionier der global governance oder gar der globalen Biopolitik relativiert.
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Papers and Book Chapters by Corinne A. Pernet
Gives a brief overview of the development of the field in Switzerland and the challenges it faces and introduces articles.
In the history of development there has been a tendency to attribute developmental initiatives to coordinating centres in the global north and view countries in the south as recipients, a phenomenon that continues to the present day. The Central
American Nutrition Institute (INCAP) is by contrast an example of a regional institution that not only generated a considerable body of knowledge concerning the nutritional state of the region and policy proposals but also advocated an alternative
development model emphasizing local resources. Although INCAP enjoyed some success in disseminating a number of its ideas through international organisations, the implementation of its vision was ultimately hampered by the unstable political
situation prevailing in Central America in the time period analyzed in this article.
Sönke Kunkel, Corinna Unger und Marc Frey, eds., International Organizations and Development, 1945-1990, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, p.101-125.
DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA: MODELS, DEBATES, PRACTICES AND IMAGINARIES
Abstract
This article offers a brief introduction to the research in this dossier and its conceptual organization. The works emerged out of an interdisciplinary conference we organized in November 2013 at the University of Berne, Switzerland to examine development
imaginaries, discourses and practices in Central America for the period after 1945. Taken together, the research suggests that policy and discourse—even poetic discourse— cannot be fully disentangled since the production of knowledge and its engagement have proven central to debates over development. That said, these works suggest the need further study on the popular perception of the notions, policies and projects that give form to the idea of development in the region.
Gives a brief overview of the development of the field in Switzerland and the challenges it faces and introduces articles.
In the history of development there has been a tendency to attribute developmental initiatives to coordinating centres in the global north and view countries in the south as recipients, a phenomenon that continues to the present day. The Central
American Nutrition Institute (INCAP) is by contrast an example of a regional institution that not only generated a considerable body of knowledge concerning the nutritional state of the region and policy proposals but also advocated an alternative
development model emphasizing local resources. Although INCAP enjoyed some success in disseminating a number of its ideas through international organisations, the implementation of its vision was ultimately hampered by the unstable political
situation prevailing in Central America in the time period analyzed in this article.
Sönke Kunkel, Corinna Unger und Marc Frey, eds., International Organizations and Development, 1945-1990, Palgrave Macmillan, 2014, p.101-125.
DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA: MODELS, DEBATES, PRACTICES AND IMAGINARIES
Abstract
This article offers a brief introduction to the research in this dossier and its conceptual organization. The works emerged out of an interdisciplinary conference we organized in November 2013 at the University of Berne, Switzerland to examine development
imaginaries, discourses and practices in Central America for the period after 1945. Taken together, the research suggests that policy and discourse—even poetic discourse— cannot be fully disentangled since the production of knowledge and its engagement have proven central to debates over development. That said, these works suggest the need further study on the popular perception of the notions, policies and projects that give form to the idea of development in the region.
The book offers a critical reassessment of how historical experiences have shaped contemporary understandings of development, demonstrating that the seemingly self-evident concept of development has been contingent on a combination of material conditions, power structures, and policy choices at different times and in different places. Using a world history approach, the handbook highlights similarities in development challenges across time and space, and it pays attention to the meanings of ideological, cultural, and economic divides in shaping different understandings and practices of development. Taking a thematic approach, the book shows how different actors – governments, non-governmental organizations, individuals, corporations, and international organizations – have responded to concerns regarding the conditions in their own or other societies, such as the provision of education, health, or food; approaches to infrastructure development and industrialization; the adjustment of social conditions; population policies and migration; and the maintenance of stability and security.
Bringing together a range of voices from across the globe, this book will be perfect for advanced students and researchers of international development history.
Table of Contents
Part 1: Introduction
1. Corinna R. Unger, Iris Borowy, and Corinne A. Pernet: The history of development: A critical overview
Part 2: Concepts and Ideas of Development
2. Daniel Speich and Verena Halsmayer: Economic growth and the object of development
3. Alessandro Iandolo: Socialist approaches to development
4. Eija Ranta: Alternative Development Approaches: Utopias, Co-options, Transitions
Part 3: Themes Part 3a: Developing People
5. Iris Borowy: Unravelling the Health-Development Nexus
6. Damiano Matasci: Education, Development and North-South Relations in the 20th Century
Part 3b: Developing Societies
7. Michele Alacevich: Inequality
8. Gareth Austin: Industrialization
9. Teresa Huhle: Demographic Concerns and Interventions: The Changing Population – Development -Nexus in the 20th Century
10. Nicholas Micinski and Elaine McGregor: Multiple Faces of Migration and Development: Nation Building, Neoliberalism, and Multilateralism
11. Vincent Lagendijk: Infrastructure
Part 3c: Developing the Material World
12. Nancy Kwak: Urban development
13. Harro Maat: Agriculture and food production
14. Roger Merino: Resource governance
Part 4: Actors of Development
15. Liu Yi: Religious organizations
16. Kevin O’Sullivan: NGOs and Development: Small is Beautiful?
17. Verena Kröss, Corinne Pernet, Corinna Unger: International Organizations
18. Atul Kohli: State Intervention for Development: A Historical Perspective 19. Alex Gertschen and Olisa Moujama: Corporations
Part 5:. Transversal Perspectives
20. Karen Garner: Gender and Development
21. Corinna R. Unger: Development Knowledge: A Twentieth-Century Perspective
22. Sara Lorenzini: Development and the Security Paradox. How development was born to grant security but failed to do so.
23. Matthew Clarke: History of Development Assistance