In recent years, scholars have recast the Cold War from a U.S.-Soviet rivalry centered on Europe to a multi-polar contest waged across the world. This new perspective has enlarged the geographical scope of inquiry and considered a wider cast of actors especially from the Global South. Yet much of this research remains focused on high-level politics or even the personalities of key leaders. This panel proposes to expand the methodological scope on research in the Cold War by connecting the field of business history with a field still dominated by diplomatic history. The three papers from this panel collectively consider the complex relationship between business and geopolitics by tracing how multinational firms, government agencies, and private entrepreneurs navigated the Cold War world of the late twentieth century. They survey the range of responses by their subjects, from circumventing to even exploiting Cold War diplomacy, embargoes, or alliances for private gain. Highlighting how much states advanced geopolitical interests through business—and vice versa—these papers explore yet another overlooked dimension of the Cold War unfolding in the shadow of global rivalries and cooperation.
This panel contributes to debates in business history with its expansion of the conference’s theme and its inclusion of diverse participants. It proposes to expand the category of “public interest” to include the geopoliticization of business—the interplay between global politics and business and the unexpected ways one shaped the other. It also taps into the synergies generated from the disparate research agendas of its presenters, discussant, and chair, who are specialists of East Asian history, U.S. business history, and U.S. empire, respectively. Traversing different geographical specialties and fields, this panel aims to foster broad-ranging conversations among its participants and the audience.