In this episode, Davide Rodogno introduces his book Night on Earth, an account of international humanitarian programmes in Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and the Near East in the interwar period from 1918 to 1930.

Professor Rodogno explains how concepts of international 'relief' and 'development' were deeply connected long before the existence of the United Nations. Through the conversation, we explore the long history of humanitarians operating in the region devastated by war and famine and in which state sovereignty was deficient and hear about the colonial motivations and ideologies that influenced the activities of the various secular and religious organizations and philanthropic foundations in their attempts to reshape communities and nations through reconstruction and rehabilitation programmes.

Davide Rodogno is Professor of International History and Politics, Head of the Interdisciplinary Programmes at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva. He specializes in researching international organizations and philanthropic foundations, and transnational networks and movements since the 19th century. 

https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/academic-departments/faculty/davide-rodogno

Resources

Rodogno, D. (2021) Night on Earth. A History of International Humanitarianism in the Near East, 1918–1930. Cambridge University Press

Rodogno, D.  (2015) Against Massacre: Humanitarian Interventions in the Ottoman Empire (1815-1914), Princeton University Press – Series: Human Rights and Crimes Against Humanity, Princeton, 2011, paperback.

Daughton, J.P. (2012) In the Forest of No Joy: The Congo-Ocean Railroad and the Tragedy of French Colonialism. New York. Norton

Foliard, D. (2022). The violence of colonial photography. Manchester University Press.

Levi, P. (1988) The Drowned and the Saved. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks. New York.

Maalouf, A. (2006). Origines. Le Livre de Poche.

Pamuk, O. (2022) Nights of Plague. Knopf.

Robson, L. (2017). States of Separation: Transfer, Partition, and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.

White, B. T.  (2011). The Emergence of Minorities in the Middle East: The Politics of Community in French Mandate Syria.‎ Edinburgh University Press.

Where to listen to this episode 

• Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154

Content   

Speaker: Professor Davide Rodogno

Host: Francesco Pisano, Director, UN Library & Archives

Producer: Amy Smith

Editing & social media: Amy Smith & Nadia Al Droubi

Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva