Networked isolation: Albania’s computer network history during the cold war and the transition

The historiographical treatment of Albania often depicts isolation. However, its computer network history reveals the flows of information, commodities and individuals between Albania and the world. It reflects Albania’s fluctuating international relations with the USSR and China, the United Nations and the role of Soros Foundation in the 1990s. This study focuses on these last two little-known periods. Between 1981 and 1989, Albania’s Institute of Informatics and Applied Mathematics (INIMA) benefitted from the establishment of a “computer network for the development of scientific and technical activities” under the aegis of UNESCO, UNDP and implemented by the French company Bull. Based on direct testimonies from Bull project managers and Albanians trained in France, this study explores the expectations of the Albanian regime, the relationship developed between Albanian and foreign technicians, the effects of the training of Albanians abroad, and the impact of applied informatics in Albania. We also draw on UNESCO reports, newspapers, public speeches and archives available in Albania. While this project consolidated INIMA’s capacities during the 1980s, its survival was at stake in the 1990s. We then look in particular at the role of Soros Foundation, a unique case of an international NGO providing Internet access between 1996 and 2000. We analyse testimonies via the AlbNet mailing list archives. This enables us to see the socio-technical choices made by UNDP, the marginalisation of INIMA and the importance of Soros Foundation.