Nouvel acteur et nouveau phenomene transnationaux: Terre des Hommes et l'adoption internationale (1960-1980)

In: Relations internationales: revue trimestrielle d'histoire, Heft 142, S. 119-136

Abstract

In the 1960s & 1970s, international adoption became a transnational social phenomenon, largely due to the commitment of organizations like Terre des Hommes. The study of this new international player & nascent phenomenon allows us to assess the relationship between states & transnational actors. The governments of the children's countries of origin, for example South Korea, wartime Vietnam or Colombia, granted organizations like Terre des Hommes little more than the minimum sphere necessary to carry out their work. In France, the government developed a regulatory environment in accordance with the ongoing debate on international adoption. As a result of the evolving philosophy towards this social phenomenon, together with dissension within the organization itself, Terre des Hommes revised its position on this form of aid to the Third World, moving from involvement to renunciation. Adapted from the source document.