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THE UNINTENDED
CONSEQUENCES OF COLD
WAR AREA STUDIES
BY IMMANUEL
WALLERSTEIN
Virginia de la Fuente
THE AUTHOR: IMMANUEL WALLESTEIN
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Immanuel Wallerstein is an
American sociologist, historical social
scientist, and world-systems analyst,
best-known for his development of the
general approach in sociology which
led to the emergence of his WorldSystem Theory.
Wallerstein notes that world-systems
analysis calls for an unidisciplinary
historical social science, and contends
that the modern disciplines, products
of the 19th century, are deeply flawed
because they are not logical if they are
separated, as, for example, in many
analysis among the scholars of
different disciplines.
“WORLD REGION IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCE”
Written in 1943 by The Committee on World
Regions of the Social Science Research from
US (SSRC).
 Interest in foreign regions had been intensified
with the WWII.
 Scarcity of competent personnel.
 Need for social scientist who knew different
regions of the world (regional knowledge)
 Highly trained specialist with regional knowledge
occupied key positions.
 Need for knowledge of languages, economics,
history, politics, religions… of foreign countries.
 Regional studies reduced vague generalities.
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COMMITTEE ON AREA STUDIES IN
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
In 1943, the Joint Committee on Graduate
Instruction of Columbia University
appointed a Committee on Area Studies.
 “… There will be need of many Americans who
are thoroughly, exhaustively, and scientifically
informed about particular neighbors.”
 It suggested priority for Latin America, China
and Japan.
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BACKGROUND TO AREA STUDIES
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1.
2.
3.
Why are there no “regional specialist” in 1943?:
History and Social Sciences ( Economics,
Political Science and Sociology) were always
focused on Western World since 1850 to 1914.
The Non Western World was studied by two
different disciplines: anthropology (primitive
people) and Oriental studies for non Western
“high civilizations” (China, Japan, India, Persia
and Arab-Islamic world).
The state-market-civil society established the
boundaries for political science, economics and
sociology.
U.S. ARMY DURING SECOND WAR
During World War II, the US Army conducted
“area training programs” of two kinds: Foreign
and Language Curricula of the Army Specialized
Training Program (ASTP-FALC) and Civil
Affairs Training Schools (CATS).
 The war brought enthusiasm for area studies,
however ASTP and CATS only trained people
quickly to do specific jobs, so area instruction was
seen as makeshift.
 Even though, these area programs were a portent
of the future of area studies.
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COLD WAR CONCERNS
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After the War, Area Studies became really important
for US to prevent other areas from “falling into the
hands of the communists.”
Now the priority areas to study were Soviet Union
and China.
The earlier Committte on Wold Regions, now (1947)
called Committee on World Area Research of
SSRC exposed some arguments for area studies:
1. National welfare required a citizenry well
informed; a vast understanding in all other lands and
in all other people is mandatory to gain peace.
2. Area studies would repair the lack of universality
in social sciences.
INTERDEPARTMENTAL COMMISSION ON
ORIENTAL, SLAVONIC, EAST EUROPEAN AND
AFRICAN STUDIES
This Committee was issued in 1947 in Great
Britain, headed by the Earl of Scarborough.
 They examined the facilities offered by
universities or educational institutions in GB for
this Oriental study.
 It seemed the Oriental studies had been
neglected in GB, comparing it with other
countries.
 They wanted to strengthen the structure of
Oriental Studies in GB, and retrained any
criticism.
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SSRC NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE
STUDY OF WORLD AREAS,1948
Charles Wagley wrote a report for this Conference, in which he tell
us the objective of area studies:
Area Studies could make a direct contribution to the development of a
universal and general science of society and human behavior.
But, how?
1.
Area studies needs the cooperation among the various disciplines of
the social sciences.
2.
The area provides a concrete focus for the disciplines of the social
sciences and related fields of the humanities and natural sciences.
3.
Teamwork is absolutely necessary in area studies. No single person
can deal with everything.
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In the Second SSRC Conference two years later, they were also
concerned about financial implications.
The American educational structure was still centered on Western
Europe.
They needed a Federal program, with Federal aid, but not Federal
control.
UNESCO’S INTERNATIONAL SOCIAL
SCIENCE BULLETIN, 1952
Written by the French Jean B. Duroselle, offered
an acerbic view of US trends of area studies.
 Considered area studies less a contribution to the
“science of society” than to the pursuit of foreign
policy.
 He wrote that the sudden emerging of area studies
in US must be “an instinctive reaction against the
almost complete ignorance about everything that
did not concern their continent.”
 In the same journal, Hans Morgenthau also
expressed his opinion about US interest in area
studies as a political reason, and not as academic
reason.
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AREA STUDIES WELL INSTITUTED IN US
UNIVERSITIES
By 1950, major foundations supported Area
Studies.
 Rockefeller was the pioneer in 1933,and also in
1945 for the Russian Institute at Columbia.
 The widest impact was caused by Ford
Foundation in 1952, when it instituted its
Foreign Area Fellowship Program, which
paid for doctoral training and field research.
 When Soviet Union launched the first Sputnik in
1957, Eisenhower, as reply, created the National
Defense Education Act (NDEA) in 1958, and
aid was given to area centers.

SSRC SURVEY IN 1973, BY RICHARD D.
LAMBERT

This author could observe a spectacular growth
in area studies:
1. Research had become theoretically and
methodologically more sophisticated as scholars
had become more competent;
2. Young men were working on non western
areas;
3. The graduate students produced at the centers
were an important recruitment source for the
foreign affairs agencies.
4. The government also used those centers for the
training of employees.
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES I
Area studies threatened the basic justifications of
both Oriental studies and anthropology.
 Oriental studies could only surrender or hope to
turn area studies.
 Cantwell Smith wanted to resist, because he
saw a disinterested intent on “increasing human
knowledge” in Oriental studies, while area
studies replied to a practical demand of “experts”.
However, as Wallerstein says, his vision is quite
traditionalist, because Cantwell was defending a
past Orient.
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UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES II
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Sir Hamilton Gibbs, a leading British Orientalist
acknowledged “the limitations of classical
Orientalism”. Orientalism had been existing under
the shadow of the “great culture”. So Oriental studies
and anthropology were losing their defined niches.
His advice was intercommunication. A social scientist
has to be able to communicate with his own kind,
economists, political scientists, sociologists… in the
particular technical notation of his “science”, but at
the same time, in the context of Area Studies. He will
need to see the data not as isolated facts, but in a
broad context. And he saw Area Studies as a Trojan
horse entering the academic community to grow
interest in non Western civilizations.
THE COLD WAR EATS ITS OWN I
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In 1960s, the famous scandal called Operation
Camelot happened.
It was a project to determine the feasibility of
developing a general social systems model which would
predict significant aspects of social changes in
developing nations of the world.
It was supported by the Army and the Department of
Defense.
The project was designed to study Latin America
principally, starting with Chile. After a problem with a
Norwegian sociologist there - who saw area studies as
“scientific colonialism, a process whereby the center of
gravity for acquisition of knowledge about the nation is
located outside the nation itself” -, the president of Chile
and the US State Department needed to intervene, and
finally the project was cancelled.
THE COLD WAR EATS ITS OWN II
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So, by the early 1970s, the discipline was in crisis. The
objective of Area Studies started to be blurred.
In the end, a new form of are studies appeared, of woman’s
studies on the one hand, and “ethnic” studies on the others.
They represent the revolt of those whom the university has
“forgotten”. They wanted to be heard, not as a particular
group.
In the 80s and 90s, many things needed to be taken into
account: the disillusionment with “development”; the collapse
of Communisms; the collapse of many national liberation
movement governments in Africa and Asia…
In the universities, there has been a explosion of programs in
a period of increasing financial squeeze; the social sciences
have been restructured because of the blurring of the
boundaries among them; and there has been a expansion of
cultural studies in the humanities.
It seems we are not now where we were in 1943.