Charity After Empire

Matthew Hilton is Professor of Social History at Queen Mary University of London. He has written widely on the history of political activism, social movements and nongovernmental organisations. Previous publications include Prosperity for All: Consumer Activism in an Era of Globalisation (2009) and, as co-author, The Politics of Expertise: How NGOs Shaped Modern Britain (2013).

• Introduction; Part I. Growth: 1. Techno-missionaries; 2. Charity at the end of empire; 3. Just giving I; 4. Charity and the left; Part II. Delivery: 5. Does aid work?; 6. The politics of failure; 7. Who is aid for?; 8. Donor darling; Part III. Containment: 9. Beyond charity; 10. Charity and the right; 11. Just giving II; 12. Charity, rights and inequality.

'Charity after Empire skilfully unravels the messy, complicated, ambivalent, classed, racialized and anti-racial histories of charities across new times from post 1945 to decolonisation and development. Stories of individuals and institutions, domestic political economy and the geo-political world, tell of the many agents engaged in shaping contemporary UK humanitarian sensibilities.' Catherine Hall, author of Lucky Valley: Edward Long and the History of Racial Capitalism