Authors

Stefan Bosomitu¹;  ¹ IICCMER, Romania

Discussion

This paper explores the scholarships programs offered by Communist Romania to African students. We are interested in topics such as: the countries that benefited the most of these scholarship programs; if the number of scholarships offered fluctuated during the years; the different types of scholarships offered – governmental and/or party scholarships, etc.
By offering these scholarships, Communist Romania had a three-fold interest. Firstly, it attempted to consolidate its diplomatic presence and influence within the region. Secondly, besides the humanitarian aspect, Romania developed important economic relationships (investments) with the countries to which they offered scholarship programs. Thirdly, Romania was in a competition with the other Soviet Bloc countries which developed similar programs.
Our research is based mostly on documents issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which coordinated these scholarships programs, but also on interviews with former coordinators and beneficiaries of these programs.