Transnational Philanthropy and Nationalism: The Early Years of Central European University

Abstract

Cet article est principalement consacré à la Central European University en tant qu’institution transnationale qui comptait des branches à Prague et à Budapest. Elle était l’institutionnalisation la plus visible des réseaux philanthropiques de George Soros en Europe centrale et de l’Est. L’échec de la Central European University à Prague (1991-1995) est perçu comme le résultat dune constellation particulière de politiques locales, mettant en jeu des stratégies nationalistes afin de définir et de légitimer la politique intérieure et extérieure tchèque de l’époque.

Giving and Refusing: The Contested Reception of Transnational Philanthropy in the Case of the Prague Central European University Foundation

“…This style of philanthropy was different from that of most international donors at the time and was not replicated by other U.S. foundations, who either administered their programs from the United States or established their own offices in the region (Carothers, 1996; Pinter, 2001). Soros’s approach was possible because of the previous social ties he had established in the region as a philanthropist in the 1980s (Guilhot, 2007; Stone, 2010; Stubbs, 2013; Pospíšilová, 2014).…”

“…This article is based on an empirical case study of a private foundation, the Prague Central European University (CEU) Foundation, which was founded in the Czech Republic by Hungarian-born American philanthropist George Soros 1 in April 1991, shortly after the collapse of the communist regime, and which was then closed down by its benefactor in 1996 after the Czech government refused to participate in the philanthropic project (Pospíšilová, 2014, 2017). The establishment of the CEU was based on the offer of a large gift of US$25 million that was to be paid over a period of 5 years.…”