Introduction.- 1. Pasts to be unveiled: the interconnections of the international and the imperial; Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo and José Pedro Monteiro.- I – Internationalism(s) in an imperial world: the interwar years.- 2. Towards a Social History of International Organisations: The ILO and the Internationalisation of Western Social Expertise; Sandrine Kott (University of Geneva).- 3. Internationalism and Nationalism in the League of Nations’ work for intellectual cooperation; Daniel Laqua (Northumbria University).- 4. A league of empires: imperial political imagination and interwar internationalisms; Miguel Bandeira Jerónimo (Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra).- 5. The Rise of a Humanitarian Superpower: American NGOs and International Relief, 1917-1945; Daniel Roger Maul (University of Oslo).- 6. Depression Development: The Interwar Origins of a Global U.S. Modernization Agenda; David Ekbladh (Tufts University).- II- Imperialism(s) and international institutions: the aftermath of World War II.- 7. Population, Geopolitics and International Organizations in the Mid Twentieth Century; Alison Bashford (University of Cambridge).- 8. Re-mapping the Borders of Imperial Health: The World Health Organization and the International Politics of Regionalization in French North Africa, 1945-1956; Jessica Pearson (Macalester College).- 9. “One of those too-rare examples”: The International Labour Organization, the Colonial Question and Forced Labour (1961-1963) ;José Pedro Monteiro (Centre for Social Studies, University of Coimbra).-III- Imperial resiliencies in the post-colonial world order.- 10. The Decolonization of Development: Rural Development in India before and after 1947; Corinna Unger (European University Institute).- 11. The Anvil of Internationalism: The United Nations and Anglo-American relations during the debate over Katanga, 1960-1963; Alanna O’Malley (Leiden University).- 12. “‘An Assembly of Peoples in Struggle’: How the Cold War Made Latin America Part of the ‘Third World’”; Jason Parker (Texas A&M).- 13. Globalisation and Internationalism Beyond the North Atlantic. Soviet-Brazilian Encounters and Interactions During the Cold War; Tobias Rupprecht (University of Exeter).

This volume offers innovative insights into and approaches to the multiple historical intersections between distinct modalities of internationalism and imperialism during the twentieth century, across a range of contexts. Bringing together scholars from diverse theoretical, methodological and geographical backgrounds, the book explores an array of fundamental actors, institutions and processes that have decisively shaped contemporary history and the present. Among other crucial topics, it considers the expansion in the number and scope of activities of international organizations and its impact on formal and informal imperial polities, as well as the propagation of developmentalist ethos and discourses, relating them to major historical processes such as the growing institutionalization of international scrutiny in the interwar years or, later, the emerging global Cold War.

“Just as empires were global phenomena, so, too, the administrative agencies, international organizations, and oppositional networks engaged by those empires' decolonization were global in vision and reach. This essay collection highlights the intersections involved. The issues addressed retain a powerful resonance, from the consideration of international organisations as sites of internationalist innovation to the public diplomacy of anti-colonialism and the imperial foundations of modernisation theories and development strategies. From first to last, it's a rewarding read.” (Martin Thomas, Professor of Imperial History, University of Exeter, UK)

 “This elegant edited volume innovates in terms of methodology and historiography thanks to the work of the editors. They set up a very coherent and consistent editorial project and asked a number of well-known outstanding contributors to reflect and write individual chapters that pondered, connected and intertwined the role of internationalism and imperialism in the making of our world. All authors went beyond labels, trends and buzzwords; in their respective chapters they zoomed in and out providing compelling analyses. This sophisticated and nuanced volume will trigger new research. It will be read and greatly appreciated by undergraduate, graduate students and scholars alike.” (Davide Rodogno, International History, Professor and Head of Department, The Graduate Institute Geneva, Switzerland)