The League of Red Cross Societies’ Development Programme, the 1964 South East Asian Forum, and the Silencing of Asia

Abstract

The end of World War II and the spread of national liberation movements fundamentally reshaped the international order, with a direct impact on humanitarianism, decolonisation, and the rise of Western development practice in the Global South. This article examines how the League of Red Cross Societies responded to these changes through the establishment of its Development Programme. Originally conceived in 1957 and commencing in 1963, the Programme included the formation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in newly independent countries in the Global South. Although it appeared to align with the values of self-determination for the League’s newest members, by prioritising the implementation of Western development theories the Programme left little scope for the inclusion of the voices and perspective of the Global South. An analysis of the Development Programme’s first foray into the Asian region, the 1964 South East Asian Forum, suggests that the League prioritised the appearance rather than the substance of its work. As a result, the article argues, the voices of the Global South–and especially Asia–were silenced in the Programme.