Soviet Medical Diplomacy and the Global Cold War

This project analyses the instrumental use of medical workers, technologies, and education as vectors for global engagement, taking as a case study the USSR’s paradigmatic example. It will argue for the efficacy and flexibility of medicine and health as arenas soft power, even as unforeseen and unintended consequences raises questions about its limits. My innovative approach marries New Diplomatic History and the history of emotions, focusing attention away from the upper echelons of power and instead on the affective goals and outcomes for rank-and-file professionals, who participated in the Soviet Union’s multipronged strategy to cultivate allies and undermine naysayers. AFR support will enable me to conduct three months of archival research in Moscow, where repositories hold reports and correspondence that attest to the lived experiences of thousands of health professionals, administrators, and students who participated in this endeavour.