The Counter‐Hegemonic Internationalism of Josué de Castro: A Radical Brazilian in the Mid‐Twentieth Century World Government Movement

Abstract The histories of concepts of, and movements for, world government and world citizenship are recounted almost entirely as histories of the West or of Western political thought. However, new archival research shows that there was significant involvement from intellectuals, politicians and activists from many parts of the Global South. As part of a broader project to uncover the history of these Global South ‘globalists’ and their contributions to the ideas and activism of the world government movement, this article examines the counter‐hegemonic internationalist ideas and activism of Josué de Castro, Brazilian intellectual, politician, activist and one‐time head of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). De Castro's development of a radical counter‐hegemonic internationalism grew out of his focus on hunger and his desire to craft a world food policy that would eliminate hunger for everyone. After his frustrating experience at the FAO, he came to believe that only a radical re‐organization of the international system into an integrated world system could ever truly solve the problem of world hunger. This led him to get actively involved in the world government movement of the 1950s and 1960s, and to try to establish a movement for world government in Brazil. The article traces the evolution of his ideas and activities in these movements and shows how he tried to shift international discussions about world government from a narrow focus on war and peace to a broader discussion about re‐ordering the world so that everyone could be ‘free from want’.