This roundtable examines the the global politics of foreign aid during the Cold War. It focuses on the complex and often contested role of CARE International, which has been one of the largest, non-governmental, international aid organizations in the United States since 1945. Situated between U.S. foreign policy interests and the needs of local state governments, CARE navigated liminal spaces that alternately aligned with and resisted the directives of the U.S. government. This roundtable's discussion explores key themes, including the evolution of foreign aid as a tool for winning "hearts and minds" in the Cold War, the ways CARE’s work reflected broader shifts in humanitarian practices, and the critical influence of local populations in shaping American aid strategies. By highlighting moments when CARE refused to cooperate with U.S. instructions, the roundtable foregrounds the contested spaces where the organization mediated between being an arm of state power and maintaining its independence.

This roundtable brings together historians from the Woodrow Wilson Center's Global Research Initiative, which unites scholars from around the world to conduct focused research on a single archive with global reach. Participants include specialists in the histories of Egypt, Korea, Yugoslavia, Sierra Leone, and the United States, working across multiple languages and disciplines to interrogate the global history and impact of American foreign aid. Engaging directly with the conference theme of protest and prohibition, this roundtable highlights how CARE’s decisions embodied resistance to dominant political narratives while navigating operational constraints, offering a nuanced perspective on the multifaceted narratives underpinning Cold War-era foreign aid.