Exploring “Socialist Solidarity” in Higher Education: East German Advisors in Post-Independence Mozambique (1975–1992)

Abstract

The chapter seeks to retrace the spirit of “socialist solidarity” in the context of educational (development) aid, dwelling on the historical example of cooperation in higher education between the People’s Republic of Mozambique and the German Democratic Republic during the first decade(s) of Mozambican independence. Besides picturing the socialist outlook and multinational ambiance of Mozambique’s Eduardo Mondlane University, the author addresses intercultural and ideological challenges that East German cooperators encountered while on their mission in southern Africa. Related to this, notions of educational and ideological transfer in the framework of “socialist solidarity” will be discussed.