We share here the latest edition of our “New Research” series, which provides the public with an opportunity to read the most recently published RAC research reports. They have been prepared by RAC research stipend recipients who have come to our reading room to study the archival materials that we preserve and make available to users from around the world. These reports showcase the wide range of collections researchers have used, spanning different time periods and disciplines. They also highlight the global reach of our collections. This edition’s set of reports cites records from the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Near East Foundation, and the International Basic Economy Corporation. One of the reports also uses the personal papers of Nelson A. Rockefeller.
“The Ford Foundation’s Evolving Human Rights Approach to Latin America: The Mexican Window” by Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert
Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert came to RAC from El Colegio de México for her study of the struggle for human rights in Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s. Within this geographically broad context, her report, “The Ford Foundation’s Evolving Human Rights Approach to Latin America: The Mexican Window,” focuses on how this major US foundation helped shape Mexican human rights activities. During this time period, the Foundation was a major funder of the newly created Mexican Academy of Human Rights (AMDH), an organization that brought together human rights activists, public persona, and government officials. For much of Latin America, facing a consolidation of repressive regimes and subsequent human rights crises, the Mexican configuration of activists working with government personnel was rather unique. Ford Foundation’s support of AMDH reflected an expansion of its already long-standing presence in Mexico, but also its evaluation of Mexico as a functioning democracy despite the limitations of its political system and social structure. Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert’s exploration of the Ford Foundation archives enabled her to gain a deeper understanding of the history of the AMDH, the wider human rights story in Latin America, and the shaping of the Foundation’s program in this area.
Ana Sofía Rodríguez Everaert recently defended her doctoral dissertation at the Centro de Estudios Historicos at El Colegio de México. Her research interests include human rights in Latin America and Cold War history. She was a 2023 RAC research stipend recipient.
“Navigating Authoritarianism: The Ford Foundation’s Response to the 1973 Coup in Chile” by Marieke Riethof
Also highlighting the Ford Foundation’s activities in Latin America, Marieke Riethof’s report looks at how the 1973 coup in Chile was an inflection point for reorienting the Foundation’s grantmaking in that country. In “Navigating Authoritarianism: The Ford Foundation’s Response to the 1973 Coup in Chile,” she observes that while much has been previously written by researchers studying the impact of the Ford Foundation on Cold War Latin America, her study looks at the Foundation through a different lens. Her report aims to provide important insight into understanding the decision-making process of a philanthropy facing difficult choices of how to best operate in a drastically changed political environment. Prior to the coup led by Augusto Pinochet, Ford’s efforts had primarily centered on funding the modernization and professionalization of social science research at Chile’s universities. However, the military takeover immediately impacted the country’s academic institutions, leading to widespread human rights violations and a refugee scholar crisis. In her studies in the Ford Foundation records at RAC, Dr. Riethof found the numerous memos and reports written by local foundation staff not only shed light on Ford’s program decisions, but also provided very poignant and telling insight on how the new regime adversely impacted personal lives and careers.
Marieke Riethof is a senior lecturer in Latin American politics at the University of Liverpool. Her research interests focus on the role of transnational solidarity and exile networks in Latin America in the 1970s and 1980s. She was a 2020 RAC research stipend recipient.
“The Rockefeller Foundation in Peru: Agricultural Innovation Prior to Agrarian Reform, 1950-1970” by Taylor Cozzens
Taylor Cozzens’s research report looks at an interesting chapter in the Rockefeller Foundation’s (RF) support for agricultural development in Latin America, specifically its work in Peru in the 1950s and 1960s. In “The Rockefeller Foundation in Peru: Agricultural Innovation Prior to Agrarian Reform, 1950-1970,” he argues that while well-intentioned in its goals, the RF’s philanthropic investment in the country missed the mark on addressing critical agrarian issues. He notes that Peru’s political, economic, and social center of gravity was in Lima, and coastal elites framed the agenda for the stream of agriculture-related funding that came from the Foundation. It centered on research funding for university agricultural centers and Green Revolution-based hybrid crop production, neither of which addressed the fundamental needs of Andean campesinos who struggled in large stretches of the high-altitude interior of the country. A substantial attempt at agrarian reform had to wait for the military takeover by a left-leaning government in the late 1960s. During his research stay at RAC, Taylor Cozzens was able to supplement his research in the Rockefeller Foundation records by also studying Ford Foundation records on agrarian reform in Peru as well as the Nelson A. Rockefeller papers to gain a deeper understanding of how the US foundations’ agenda in Latin America intertwined with US geopolitical considerations in the Cold War era.
Taylor Cozzens recently completed his dissertation at the University of Oklahoma on agrarian reform in Peru. As part of his research in modern Latin American history, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study in Peru. He was a 2024 RAC research stipend recipient
“The Motheral Report and Land Reform in Iran, 1952-1963” by Jack Roush
Jack Roush’s research report looks at the impact of a previously little-known report submitted to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi to assist him in efforts to modernize Iranian society. “The Motheral Report and Land Reform in Iran, 1952-1963” traces the personal story of Joseph R. Motheral, US geopolitical interests in Iran during the post-World War II era, and the efforts by US philanthropies, such as the Near East Foundation, to create pilot projects for agrarian modernization. The Shah had hoped that a process of slow but orderly reform would result in a politically and socially stable country. Roush noted that the 1957 Motheral Report “drew upon the Shah’s pre-existing objectives and efforts to advocate for US support in implementing large-scale land reform, including financial assistance and technical training, and outlined a five-year timeline for redistribution.” Yet, actual implementation did not follow the plan, as political concerns, a slow-moving bureaucracy, and the Shah’s own shifting efforts to bring about orderly change sidelined the report’s detailed program. Instead, Iran witnessed separate land tenure reform efforts by the Iran’s prime minister in 1961, and then the Shah’s own White Revolution program in 1963. Ultimately, these actions had long-term implications for Iran’s modernization agenda, for the Shah’s power, and for domestic opponents to his rule.
Jack Roush is a doctoral candidate in international history at the London School of Economics. His research interests include 20th-century US-Iranian relations and the role of informal actors in shaping this relationship. He was a 2024 RAC research stipend recipient.
About the RAC Research Stipend Program
The Rockefeller Archive Center offers a competitive research stipend program that provides individuals up to $5,000 for reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses. Learn more on our Research Stipend page.
