Development and Human Rights in the 'Second World'. Christian NGOs and Social Movements towards the Opening of the East, 1980s-1990s.

The end of the Cold War and the fall of state Socialism in Eastern Europe in 1989-1991 inspired a lot of reactions in Western European societies. More specifically, the opening of the East attracted hundreds of Western European NGOs, development workers, and experts to Central and East Europe. Church-linked and Christian-inspired organizations - ranging from Pax Christi to trade unions and Third World solidarity groups - played a prominent role in these campaigns: they staged a series of projects that aimed to foster development, education, humanitarian relief, and democracy in post-Communist Europe. For various reasons, historical work has paid little attention to these contacts, although they offer innovative perspectives to look at critical themes in the history of the Cold War, European integration, human rights, and globalization. Making use of new sources and connecting these East-West contacts with North-South movements, this projects aims to contribute to a new understanding of 'global 1989'.