Foundations of the American Century: The Ford, Carnegie, and Rockefeller Foundations and the Rise of American Power: The Ford, Carnegie, and Rockfeller Foundations in the Rise of American Power

369 Pages·3.36 MB·English

by  Parmar, Inderjeet

1-1/8”
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praise for Foundations oF the american century
a inderjeet parmar reveals the complex
r interrelations, shared mindsets, and collab-
“With Foundations of the American Century, Inderjeet Parmar has produced the most m orative efforts of influential public and pri-
wide-ranging and sophisticated historical account of the international role of American a vate organizations in the building of Ameri-
r
philanthropic foundations to date. Parmar reopens the debate about the cultural instru- can hegemony. Focusing on the involvement
ments of American foreign policy by emphasizing, beyond the success or failure of their of the Ford, Rockefeller, and Carnegie foun-
programs and beyond their political oscillations, the importance of the international dations in U.S. foreign affairs, Parmar traces
networks that foundations have established over the past century. Building on impres- the transformation of America from an “iso-
f
sive amounts of archival material that spans an entire century of philanthropic activity lationist” nation into the world’s only super-
o
on several continents, and tracing the aftereffects of this history in the post–Cold War u power, all in the name of benevolent stew-
era and the early twenty-first century, Parmar’s book is bound to become a landmark in n ardship.
foundation literature. It will be of interest to cultural historians, international relations d
foundations of the
a
scholars, political scientists, and anyone interested in the nature of American power and t Parmar begins in the 1920s with the estab-
liberal internationalism.” i lishment of these foundations and their sys-
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nicolas Guilhot, author of The Democracy Makers: Human Rights and the Politics n tem of top-down, elitist, scientific giving,
inderjeet parmar is professor of gov- of Global Order s american century which focused more on managing social,
ernment at the University of Manchester,
o political, and economic change than on solv-
chair of the British International Studies “Theoretically sophisticated, impressively researched, and lucidly written.” f ing modern society’s structural problems.
Association, and principal investigator and huGh WilFord, author of The Mighty Wurlitzer: How the CIA Played America t Consulting rare documents and other archi-
coordinator of the AHRC Research Network h
the ford, Carnegie, & roCkefeller foundations val materials, he recounts how the Ameri-
on the Presidency of Barack Obama. He is “Foundations of the American Century is at the cutting edge of international and trans- e can intellectuals, academics, and policy mak-
the author of Special Interests, the State, and national history, and its greatest strength is, undoubtedly, the range and analysis of the a in the rise of ameriCan power ers affiliated with these organizations insti-
m
the Anglo-American Alliance, 1939–1945 and archives Inderjeet Parmar consults and discusses throughout.” tutionalized this elitist structure, which then
e
Think Tanks and Power in Foreign Policy: A craiG n. murphy, University of Massachusetts, Boston, and Wellesley College r bled into the machinery of U.S. foreign pol-
Comparative Study of the Role and Influence
i icy and became regarded as the essence of
c
of the Council on Foreign Relations and the “This broad, inclusive book is written on a grand scale. The result is an indispensable text a modernity.
Royal Institute of International Affairs, 1939– for students of large-scale philanthropy and for anyone wishing to learn about the sub- n
1945. stantial influence exerted by the Rockefeller, Carnegie, and Ford Foundations on the rise c America hoped to replace Britain in the role
and consolidation of the United States as the dominant world economy in the twentieth e of global hegemon and created the necessary
century. Inderjeet Parmar traces the construction of elite networks spanning the bound- n political, ideological, military, and institu-
t
aries separating philanthropy, the academy, and the state as the means for creating U.S. u tional capacity to do so, yet far from being
hegemony on the world stage.” r objective, the Ford, Rockefeller, and Carne-
donald Fisher, University of British Columbia y gie foundations often advanced U.S. interests
jacket image: Hulton Archive, GettyImages © at the expense of other nations. Incorporat-
General Photographic Agency.
i n d e r j e e t pa r m a r ing case studies of American philanthropy in
columbia university press neW york cup.columbia.edu
Nigeria, Chile, and Indonesia, Parmar boldly
jacket design: Chang Jae Lee
c exposes the knowledge networks underwrit-
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printed in the u.s.a. l ing American dominance in the twentieth
u
m century.
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foundations of the american century
SerieS title text:
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No tracking.
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sink base on 12th text line
foundations of the american century
the ford, carnegie, and rockefeller foundations in
the rise of american Power
Inderjeet Parmar
Columbia University Press New York
Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
cup.columbia.edu
Copyright © 2012 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Parmar, Inderjeet.
Foundations of the American century : the Ford, Carnegie, and Rockefeller Foundations in the
rise of American Power / Inderjeet Parmar.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-14628-9 (cloth : alk. paper) — ISBN 978-0-231-51793-5 (e-book)
1. Ford Foundation—History 2. Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching—
History. 3. Rockefeller Foundation—History. 4. United States—Foreign relations—20th
century. I. Title.
HV97.F62P37 2011
327.73009904—dc23
2011029190
Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper.
This book is printed on paper with recycled content.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing. Neither the author
nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs that may have expired or changed since
the manuscript was prepared.
CoNTENTS
vii acknowledgments
1 1. The Significance of Foundations in U.S. Foreign Policy
31 2. American Foundation Leaders
65 3. Laying the Foundations of Globalism, 1930–1945
97 4. Promoting Americanism, Combating Anti-Americanism, and Developing a
Cold War American Studies Network
124 5. The Ford Foundation in Indonesia and the Asian Studies Network
149 6. Ford, Rockefeller, and Carnegie in Nigeria and the African Studies Network
180 7. The Major Foundations, Latin American Studies, and Chile in the Cold War
221 8. American Power and the Major Foundations in the Post–Cold War Era

256 9. Conclusion
267 notes
341 index

acknoWLedGments
It is a pleasure to acknowledge debts incurred on the way to re-
searching and writing this book. It has been many years in the making;
indeed, we have become somewhat attached to each other. I do wonder
how I will get along without it, this simultaneously enjoyable, stimulating,
educational, but occasionally frustrating long-term relationship.
I have received enormous assistance at various stages of this book proj-
ect. Colleagues and friends have generously given up their time to discuss
ideas, read draft chapters or conference papers, and listen to my not uni-
formly upbeat accounts of the book’s progress. Thanks to all of the follow-
ing for their time and patience: Bob Arnove, Paul Cammack, Phil Cerny,
Mick Cox, Nick Cullather, Michael Doyle, Rosaleen Duffy, John Dumbrell,
Donald Fisher, Nicolas Guilhot, Jon Harwood, Doug Jaenicke, Matthew
Jones, Dino Knudsen, John Krige, Mark Ledwidge, Leo McCann, Linda
Miller, Mick Moran, Craig Murphy, Alex Nunn, Pierre-Yves Saunier, Giles
Scott-Smith, Diane Stone, Srdjan Vucetic, and Japhy Wilson. I owe a sig-
nificant debt to Ralph Young, a wonderfully warm and insightful former
colleague, who asked me the question during a seminar presentation that
led to my thinking of U.S. foundations as an aspect of American politi-
cal development. If I have forgotten anyone I’ve exploited over the years,
please do forgive me. Any errors or omissions are my responsibility—
although, as a sociologist, I appreciate the social basis of those impostors,
“success” and “failure”!
I am very grateful to the archivists who take care of and make avail-
able to scholars the historical records of the Big Three foundations. In
particular, Alan Divack and Anthony Maloney were absolutely wonderful
viii—============= acknoWLedGments
during the several weeks I spent in the basement reading room at the Ford
Foundation. I especially enjoyed our chats over doughnuts and coffee on
Friday mornings. I remember our hopeful discussions about John Kerry’s
chances of defeating George W. Bush for the White House in 2004. Alan’s
knowledge and understanding of the foundation’s records was incredibly
helpful, as were his comments regarding the nature of the foundation itself.
Anthony was just amazing; he was always there for me, making my time
at Ford productive and congenial. Thanks to you both. At a later stage,
Idelle Nissila seamlessly took over from Anthony, assisting me with locat-
ing documents long after I had begun writing this manuscript.
Tom Rosenbaum at the Rockefeller Archive Center was always helpful,
encouraging, interested in my work, and very knowledgeable. I missed him
during my last visit and hope he is enjoying his retirement. Darwin Staple-
ton’s friendly helpfulness was also much appreciated. The station wagon
that the RAC uses to ferry researchers to and from Tarrytown station was
also very welcoming and helpful. Thank you!
The records of the Carnegie Corporation and other Carnegie philan-
thropies are located at the Rare Books and Manuscripts Collection at the
Butler Library, Columbia University. It is a marvelous facility with an excel-
lent staff. Thanks to you all, especially Brenda Hearing and Jane Gorjevsky,
curators of the Carnegie collections, for your untiring efforts. Despite the
wintry conditions that often prevailed in the reading room (thanks to a
superefficient air conditioning system), I always felt very warmly welcome
there.
The British Academy, the Arts and Humanities Research Board, and the
University of Manchester provided funds and research leave, which en-
abled me to spend several months in the United States over many years.
Some aspects of the book benefited from the work of the SSRC’s initia-
tive on think tanks, led by Nicolas Guilhot and Tom Asher, in the wake of
the Iraq War. I am in their debt. Finally, generous research leave from the
university upon completing a term as head of politics was essential to the
completion of this book.
At Columbia University Press, Peter Dimock proved an excellent com-
missioning editor, sharp publishing adviser, and all-round caring and warm
human being. We met after a conference panel at the International Studies
Association convention in Chicago in 2007 (I think) and, during our chat,
he suggested I put together a book proposal for Columbia to consider. To
say that that was a very welcome invitation would be an understatement—
it was music to my ears! Thanks also to Peter’s assistant, Kabir Dandona.
acknoWLedGments ix
Since Peter’s departure, Philip Leventhal has been extremely helpful with
editorial advice and, not to mention, generous with granting greatly appre-
ciated deadline extensions!
Much of the time taken to research and write this book was stolen from
my family. My children—Rohan, Nikhil, and India—were very young (four
and two years and not even a twinkle in the eye, respectively) when work
on this book began in the late 1990s. In their own ways, they have con-
tributed to the book’s completion. India is a welcome distraction, giggling
chaos and random observations on legs; Rohan, a keen historian. Nikhil
was especially helpful without knowing it: his ability to focus and dedicate
every spare moment—when still a primary-school pupil—including fleet-
ing moments in the car park before school to additional homework was
inspiring. Because of him, I began using the car as a study space as well.
But I dedicate this book to my wife and best friend, Meera: she enables
everything, including me.