‘Soldiers in the front line of battle’: International teacher unions, the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teaching Profession, and the Cold War

This article explores two related facets in the history of international teacher union organisations. First, a basic overview is provided of the history of a number of these networks, beginning in Europe well before 1900. Secondly, this exploration will then focus on one particular group ‐ the WCOTP (the World Confederation of Organisations of the Teacher Profession), and specifically its activities during the 1950s and 1960s. This organisation, like its counterparts, was actively involved over its entire history in discussing and promoting a wide variety of issues and activities relating to public education. However, it was also involved in more partisan political activities, in the context of its Cold War engagement with national teacher organisations globally. Drawing on the work of Claus Offe, Maria Elena Cook and Kim Scipes, the article explores these intra‐ and inter‐union affairs, relations with state apparatus, and raises questions about the overarching nature of teachers’ work.