Student activists and international cooperation in a changing world, 1919–60

Daniel Laqua Mentions of student activism inevitably conjure up images of 1968 – a year in which protests on university campuses across the world were often framed in internationalist terms. This chapter, by contrast, draws attention to earlier varieties of student internationalism: it focuses on a period that predated both the growing appeal of New Left currents and a substantial expansion in access to higher education. Many student organizations that operated internationally before the 1960s engaged in knowledge exchange and cooperation with international institutions to further the interests of their constituency. Revolving around associational work and expert collaboration, their brand of internationalism resembled other varieties that are being explored in this volume. Prior to the 1960s, university students were but a small subsection of their age cohort. Notwithstanding national variations, the participation rate in interwar Europe barely surpassed 2 per cent. By the late 1950s, this share had increased –...