Setting out from an analysis of the narrative that turned Black people into the archetypical recipients of European development aid, this article examines the production of an ontological, racial and cultural difference between aid donors and recipients. It shows the interconnection between two sociohistorical processes: the reconfigurations of European bureaucracy responsible for relations with 'underdeveloped' countries, and the social and professional trajectories of some of the first civil servants responsible for informing about these policies within the context of European unification. The text examines the definition of the populations and regions receiving development aid in four parts: the racialization of poverty and policies of compassion, the European community and the development of Africa, bureaucracy and world organization, and the passions and vocations of development workers.
Development; Politics; Post-colonialism; Race; European Union; Africa