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series editors’ Foreword We began the united nations intellectual history project (unihp) ten years ago to fill a surprising and serious omission, the lack of any comprehensive study of the history of the un’s contributions to economic and social thinking and action. now, with some satisfaction, we can look back at thirteen published volumes that document the un’s work in these areas. The final three volumes of the series, of which this is one, are in press. The project has unearthed some important findings that are still not adequately recognized: that ideas have been among the un’s most important contributions; that the quality of the un’s work has, at its best, been outstandingly good; that in its intellectual work, the un has often been ahead of the curve (and ahead of the bretton Woods institutions ); and finally, in terms of impact, that the un’s leading contributions have literally changed history. This is reflected in the title of our capstone volume—a synthesis of the major conclusions of the entire project—UN Ideas That Changed the World.1 We are pleased that over the last decade, the landscape of un history has been changing due to the work of others. books documenting the history of the un development programme; the World Food programme; the international Labour organization; un Educational, scientific and cultural organization; and other un funds and specialized agencies have been produced or are in the process of being written.2 The record of the un’s contributions is now more accessible. but though all this is welcome, we should underline that it is no more than what should be expected of all public organizations, especially internationally accountable ones. We look forward to enhanced efforts among these un funds and agencies to organize , improve, and open their archives so that independent researchers can dispassionately analyze their efforts and achievements. all of this is an essential part of what is needed to improve international cooperation. The united nations intellectual history project, launched in 1999, is an independent research effort based in the ralph bunche institute for international studies at The Graduate center of The city university of new york. We are grateful for the enthusiastic backing from kofi annan, x series editors’ Foreword the secretary-General when the project was launched, and of many un staff. Generous financial support from five foundations and eight governments has ensured total intellectual and financial independence. details of the project can be found on our Web site: www.unhistory.org. The work of the un can be divided into two broad categories: economic and social development, on the one hand, and peace and security, on the other. Though unihp started by focusing on the former, the project grew to encompass three volumes in the areas of peace and security. all the volumes have been or are being published in a series by indiana university press. in addition, the project has completed an oral history collection of seventy-nine interviews of persons who have played major roles in launching and nurturing un ideas—and sometimes in hindering them! Extracts from these interviews were published in 2005 as UN Voices: The Struggle for Development and Social Justice.3 authors of the project’s various volumes, including this one, have drawn on these interviews to highlight substantive points made in their texts. Full transcripts of the oral histories are also available from the unihp secretariat in electronic book form as a cd-rom to facilitate work by other researchers and interested persons worldwide. There is no single way to organize research, and that is certainly true for such an ambitious project as this one. This un history has been structured for the most part by topics, ranging from trade and finance to human rights, from transnational corporations to development assistance, from regional perspectives to sustainability. We have selected world-class experts for each topic, and the presentation and argument in all of the volumes is the responsibility of the authors whose names appear on the cover. all have been given freedom and responsibility to organize their own digging, analysis, and presentation. Guidance from us as the project directors as well as from peer review groups is provided to ensure accuracy and fairness in depicting where the ideas came from, how they were developed and disseminated within the un system, and what happened afterward. We trust that future analyses will build upon our series and go beyond. our intellectual history project is the first...

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