Authors

Richard Mills²; Valentina Fava³; Boris Vinogradov⁴; John Kennedy¹;  ¹ European University Institute, Italy;  ² University of East Anglia, UK;  ³ Università Ca' Foscari Venezia, Italy;  ⁴ Zürcher Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaften, Switzerland

Discussion

During the Cold War period, the auto-moto sector was an important arena in which relations between the Eastern Bloc and ‘the West’ were shaped and contested. The sector gave rise to commercial and political struggles, but also acted as a vector of cultural exchange. Today, with the Cold War far behind us, the sector continues to shape understandings of ‘East’ and ‘West’. This roundtable will explore how the auto-moto sector shaped and continues to shape this relationship.

Starting in détente, major Western auto-moto firms began to compete for Eastern Bloc markets that had strong potential for growth. The exploration of this commercial aspect will be led by Valentina Fava, who has published extensively on FIAT’s efforts to penetrate the Soviet market, as well as by Boris Vinogradov, who has written on Renault’s attempts to do the same. Vinogradov and Fava will ask how this trade in modern, dual-use technologies could be sustained despite security concerns and political risks.

Transfers within the sector were not unidirectional, and flows of technology emanating from the Eastern Bloc were also a source of concern. For a time during the 1950s and 1960s, Western observers feared that the Eastern Bloc would emerge as an auto-moto giant. This aspect will be examined by the roundtable’s chair, Richard Mills – whose exhibition, ‘Racing in the East: Transnational Speedway in Cold War East Anglia’, will be on display at ICCEES 2025 in conjunction with this thematic roundtable – as well as by John Kennedy, who will focus on Soviet car exports. Mills and Kennedy will also explore how the sector engendered curtain-penetrating cultural exchange.