Publication: From idealism to realism. A social history of the Dutch in Zambia 1965 - 2013
After almost fifty years of Dutch-Zambian relationships, the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Lusaka closed its doors in 2013. Earlier, the development cooperation with this African country was ended. A lively Dutch community of entrepreneurs and (former) development workers stay behind. How do they and also Zambians look back on the Dutch involvement? Did the Dutch presence mean anything substantial from the perspectives of those involved? And what does this legacy hold for future connections? The personal perspective of people working in or with the development process that is used in this publication gives a unique insight in the history of Dutch presence in Zambia.
This book has been published as ASC Occasional publication vol. 20.
Read the book here.
About the author(s) / editor(s)
Anne-Lot Hoek is a historian and works freelance in research and journalism. She obtained her Master’s degree in modern history at the University of Amsterdam with a thesis on the human rights offences of SWAPO during the Namibian liberation struggle and the reaction to that of the Dutch anti-Apartheid movement. She worked at the African Studies Centre on a research project about the history of the Dutch development organisation SNV in Mali, Cameroon, Bolivia, Zambia and The Netherlands. Her main interests are the social history of Dutch relations with (southern) Africa and the decolonization process of the Dutch East Indies.
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Posted on 12 May 2014, last modified on 20 January 2016