Combining historical and anthropological approaches, this research will critically examine the socio-political relations linking African recipients of foreign aid with Poland, an Eastern European donor in the Soviet Bloc. The project compares Polish foreign aid provided to Sudan (now Republic of the Sudan and Republic of South Sudan) and Nigeria during the Cold War, with the aim of considering the implications for the current development cooperation between North and South and the re-emergence of new EU Member States as foreign aid donors. The results will help us understand the search for development alternatives outside of Western aid regimes, both during the Cold War era as well as in the current context of ‘emerging donors’ and the South-South Cooperation. This research will build on my existing knowledge of Polish-Sudanese relations while adding a new field site (Nigeria) to my area specialisation. The project will lay the groundwork for future long-term research on global governance, international development and the power struggle over international influence in Africa. It will be conducted at the Department of Anthropology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth.