In the context of the Cold War, West Germany and the United States took a privileged position in the decolonization process by presenting themselves as the “unsullied” representatives of the “free world”. The new development policies of both countries strongly relied on non-state actors, above all on foundations, which subsequently became important channels of US-German relations. This talk will analyze how the relations between the foundations came about and which role the respective Foreign Offices played in these transnational political networks. To what extent can US and West German foundations be considered as spearheads of neo-imperialism “by invitation"?
