Alicia N. Altorfer-Ong PhD Candidate Department of International History London School of Economics and Political Science a.n.altorfer-ong @ lse.ac.uk

Doctoral research

Working title: Independence, Dependence and Third World Solidarity: Sino-Tanzanian relations, 1964-1975

My research is on the history of bilateral relations between the People's Republic of China and the United Republic of Tanzania in the 1960s-1970s, with a focus on the Chinese aid programme. My work to date has been based on archival sources in the United Kingdom, United States, Tanzania (including Zanzibar) , Egypt (Cairo), China (Beijing), as well as oral interviews. These varied sources have enabled me to construct a composite picture of Sino-Tanzanian relations in the context of the Cold War and the characteristics and ethos of Chinese Communist aid as perceived by various stakeholders.

Given the rapidly growing interest in Chinese influence on the African continent, particularly in political science and development studies, I hope to add a vital historical dimension to the current discourse.

Appointments and Projects

Visiting Scholar, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, February to October 2010.

Researcher, Southern African Development Community (SADC) Hashim Mbita Project on the contribution of non-SADC countries to the Southern African Liberation Struggle (China and North Korea), from February 2009 (ongoing).

Publications

Chinese and North Korean contributions to the Southern African liberation struggle, 1960s to 1994, book chapter commissioned by the SADC (forthcoming).

The origins of the Tanzania-Zambia Railway, 1965, book chapter, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, USA (forthcoming).

Recent Scholarly Activities

Tanzanian 'freedom' and Chinese 'friendship' in 1965: laying the tracks for the TanZam rail link, IDEAS-Cold War Studies Working Paper Series (http://www2.lse.ac.uk/IDEAS/publications/workingPapers/altorferOng.pdf), 2009.

"A friend in need is a friend indeed: Significant Aspects of Tanzania-China relations in the 1960s-70s," paper presented at Workshop on Exporting China's Development to Southeast Asia: Aid, Investment and Migration, Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, 27 November 2008.

"Negotiating with different voices: discussions about the Tanzania-Zambia Railway in 1965," paper presented at IDEAS-Cold War Studies Graduate Seminar, at the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom, 23 January 2008.

"Independence, Dependence and Third World Solidarity: Sino-Tanzanian relations, 1960's-1970's," presentation of doctoral research at Afrika-Kolloquium, University of Zurich, Switzerland, 31 October 2007.

"Chinese aid policy in Tanzania, 1964-1971: the View from Whitehall," paper presented at Institute of Development Studies, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 30 April 2007.

Academic Qualifications

July 2006	Upgraded from MPhil to DPhil Candidate, Department of International History, LSE
2002-2003	MSc in Development Studies (Merit), Development Studies Institute, LSE
Graduated May 1997	BA in Political Science (Magna Cum Laude), Boston College (USA)

PhD Supervisors

Dr. Joanna Lewis, Lecturer, Department of International History, LSE

Dr Antony Best, Senior Lecturer, Department of International History, LSE.

Languages

English (native speaker), Mandarin (intermediate), Spanish and German (elementary)