Natalia Hildebrand

DPhil Research Topic

My doctoral research examines the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO)’s ties to the African National Congress (ANC), the Nicaraguan Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), and other Third World revolutionary movements during the 1964-1982 period of the Global Cold War.

Through joint paramilitary training, diplomatic coordination at non-aligned conferences, financial exchanges, mutual expressions of solidarity in Tricontinental media outlets, and other means, these organisations forged ties that profoundly shaped the PLO's ideology, strategy, and self-understanding. I explore these transnational networks against the backdrop of Soviet and Chinese patronage, as well as the inspirational symbolism of the Algerian and Vietnamese Wars to the PLO and other insurgencies.

I draw on archival, media, diplomatic, and intelligence sources in English, Arabic, Spanish, French, and Russian, as well as on interviews with former members of the revolutionary organisations in question.

This project builds on research I conducted during my MPhil in Modern Middle Eastern Studies at St Antony's College, Oxford, and BA in International History from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

Supervisor: Eugene Rogan