The university microcosmos of the Cultural Cold War between Prague and Leiden. Student organizations, actions, and discourses

Abstract

The Cold War was defined by an ideological confrontation between two opposing worldviews that extended into every possible sphere of human activity. Culturally, the student movement —organized around large organizations— became a strategic space for the geopolitical interests of the Soviet Union and the United States, due to its idealism, capacity for mobilization, and training of future leaders. From this perspective, the article presents a comparative analysis between the International Union of Students (IUS), aligned with the Soviet bloc, and the International Student Conference (ISC), promoted by Western delegations, within the context of their simultaneous activity from 1950 to 1969. It evaluates their organizational structures, margins of influence, and primarily discursive strategies in response to major events of the Cold War, which are conceived in this work as emotionally impactful moments for university youth.