UN Ideas That Changed the World

by Richard Jolly, Louis Emmerij, Thomas G. Weiss, Kofi A. Annan (Foreword by)

Overview

Ideas and concepts have been a driving force in human progress, and they may be the most important legacy of the United Nations. UN ideas have set past, present, and future international agendas in many global economic and social arenas and have also led to initiatives and actions that have improved the quality of human life. This capstone volume draws upon findings of the other 14 books in the acclaimed United Nations Intellectual History Project Series. The authors not only assess the development and implementation of UN ideas regarding sustainable economic development and human security, but also apply lessons learned to suggest ways in which the United Nations can play a fuller role in confronting the challenges of human survival with dignity in the 21st century.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780253221186
Publisher:	Indiana University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2009
Series:	United Nations Intellectual History Project Series
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	939,401
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Richard Jolly is Honorary Professor and Research Associate of the Institute of Development Studies at the University of Sussex.

Louis Emmerij is Senior Research Fellow at The CUNY Graduate Center.

Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science at The CUNY Graduate Center and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies.

Table of Contents

List of Abbreviations
List of Figures and Boxes
Acknowledgments
Foreword by [TBA]
Introduction
I. UNIHP at a Glance
1. Overview
2. "Three UNs" and Their Impact
II. United Nations Ideas that Shaped the World
3. Human Rights: From Aspiration to Implementation
4. Gender and Women's Rights: From Empowerment to Equality
5. Development Policies: From National and Regional Perspectives to Beyond
6. International Economic Relations: From National Interests to Global Solidarity
7. Development Ideologies: From Planning to Markets
8. Social Development: From Sectoral to Integrated Perspectives
9. Sustainability: From Protecting the Environment to Preserving Ecological Systems
10. Peace and Human Security: From States to Individuals
11. Human Development: From Narrower to Broader Horizons
III. A Future for the UN and the Planet
12. A Balance Sheet
13. Challenges Ahead
14. Strengthening Global Governance
Notes
Index
About the Authors
About UNIHP

What People are Saying About This

Executive Secretary of ESCAP - Noeleen Heyzer

This vital book and the entire UN Intellectual History Project capture the path-breaking ideas that have brought about deep transformation to our world. . . . At this time when we face multiple threats to development, it is vital to reclaim and renew this legacy of the UN.

UK Minister for Africa, Asia, and the UN and former UN Deputy Secretary-General - Mark Malloch-Brown

UN Ideas That Changed the World captures a 'lost' history--the UN's extraordinary contribution to economic and social ideas and action in the modern world. Jolly, Emmerij, and Weiss . . . argue that the UN's contribution will be indispensable in the future, and they are right.

United Nations Secretary-General, 1997–2006 - from the foreword by Kofi A. Annan

I am ever more persuaded that the United Nations has a vital and inescapable role in the 21st century. The lessons since 1945, as set out in the United Nations Intellectual History Project Series, contain many insights for our common future. . . . UN ideas have been among the world organization's most important achievements. . . . This project will continue to inspire innovation and scholarship for many decades to come.

Columbia University and former UN Assistant Secretary-General - Michael W. Doyle

How many divisions has the UN? This transposed version of Stalin's shortsighted question directed again the pope has been asked so often that it is time for an answer. Readers will find it in UN Ideas That Changed the World. . . . As superbly told here, the UN's ideas--normative and descriptive, statistical and interpretive--are the heavy divisions that have given the UN the influence it has wielded for the past sixty years.

former President of Brazil - Fernando Henrique Cardoso

UN Ideas That Changed the World is an insightful and thought-provoking book. It is also a landmark work that comes at a critical moment in history. . . . UN intellectual leadership and collective imagination are more needed than ever to translate values and ideas into action for the common good.

Columbia Universityand former UN Assistant Secretary-General - Michael W. Doyle

How many divisions has the UN? This transposed version of Stalin's shortsighted question directed again the pope has been asked so often that it is time for an answer. Readers will find it in UN Ideas That Changed the World. . . . As superbly told here, the UN's ideas—normative and descriptive, statistical and interpretive—are the heavy divisions that have given the UN the influence it has wielded for the past sixty years.

Editorial Reviews

"A telling account of ideas in action."—The New York Review of Books

"As the book makes clear, the UN is important as a site—or as a sort of ecological environment—for not just the exercise of power but also the exercise of imagination.November/December 2009"—Foreign Affairs

"A telling account of ideas in action.May 27, 2010"—The New York Review of Books

"This vital book and the entire UN Intellectual History Project capture the path-breaking ideas that have brought about deep transformation to our world. . . . At this time when we face multiple threats to development, it is vital to reclaim and renew this legacy of the UN."—Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of ESCAP

"UN Ideas That Changed the World is an insightful and thought-provoking book. It is also a landmark work that comes at a critical moment in history. . . . UN intellectual leadership and collective imagination are more needed than ever to translate values and ideas into action for the common good."—Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil

"How many divisions has the UN? This transposed version of Stalin's shortsighted question directed again the pope has been asked so often that it is time for an answer. Readers will find it in UN Ideas That Changed the World. . . . As superbly told here, the UN's ideas—normative and descriptive, statistical and interpretive—are the heavy divisions that have given the UN the influence it has wielded for the past sixty years."—Michael W. Doyle, Columbia University and former UN Assistant Secretary-General

"I am ever more persuaded that the United Nations has a vital and inescapable role in the 21st century. The lessons since 1945, as set out in the United Nations Intellectual History Project Series, contain many insights for our common future. . . . UN ideas have been among the world organization's most important achievements. . . . This project will continue to inspire innovation and scholarship for many decades to come."—from the foreword by Kofi A. Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, 1997–2006

"UN Ideas That Changed the World captures a 'lost' history—the UN's extraordinary contribution to economic and social ideas and action in the modern world. Jolly, Emmerij, and Weiss . . . argue that the UN's contribution will be indispensable in the future, and they are right."—Mark Malloch-Brown, UK Minister for Africa, Asia, and the UN and former UN Deputy Secretary-General

From the Publisher

As the book makes clear, the UN is important as a site—or as a sort of ecological environment—for not just the exercise of power but also the exercise of imagination.November/December 2009

Foreign Affairs

A telling account of ideas in action.

The New York Review of Books

"UN Ideas That Changed the World captures a 'lost' history--the UN's extraordinary contribution to economic and social ideas and action in the modern world. Jolly, Emmerij, and Weiss... argue that the UN's contribution will be indispensable in the future, and they are right." —Mark Malloch-Brown, UK Minister for Africa, Asia, and the UN and former UN Deputy Secretary-General

Mark Malloch-Brown

"This vital book and the entire UN Intellectual History Project capture the path-breaking ideas that have brought about deep transformation to our world.... At this time when we face multiple threats to development, it is vital to reclaim and renew this legacy of the UN." —Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Secretary of ESCAP

Noeleen Heyzer

"How many divisions has the UN? This transposed version of Stalin's shortsighted question directed again the pope has been asked so often that it is time for an answer. Readers will find it in UN Ideas That Changed the World.... As superbly told here, the UN's ideas--normative and descriptive, statistical and interpretive--are the heavy divisions that have given the UN the influence it has wielded for the past sixty years." —Michael W. Doyle, Columbia University and former UN Assistant Secretary-General

Michael W. Doyle

"I am ever more persuaded that the United Nations has a vital and inescapable role in the 21st century. The lessons since 1945, as set out in the United Nations Intellectual History Project Series, contain many insights for our common future.... UN ideas have been among the world organization's most important achievements.... This project will continue to inspire innovation and scholarship for many decades to come." —from the foreword by Kofi A. Annan, United Nations Secretary-General, 1997–2006

from the foreword by Kofi A. Annan

"UN Ideas That Changed the World is an insightful and thought-provoking book. It is also a landmark work that comes at a critical moment in history.... UN intellectual leadership and collective imagination are more needed than ever to translate values and ideas into action for the common good." —Fernando Henrique Cardoso, former President of Brazil

Fernando Henrique Cardoso