Uniting Nations
Britons and Internationalism, 1945–1970

A study of the personal histories and interconnected lives and careers of the Britons who worked at the United Nations after 1945.

Daniel Gorman (Author)

9781316512975, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 28 July 2022

296 pages
23.5 x 15.9 x 2.3 cm, 0.58 kg

'This well-researched book generates new insights into the role of international civil servants offering an excellent comparison of the different spaces and agency of civil servants and non-state actors. It is essential reading for the expanding literature on the inner workings of international organisations.' Alanna O'Malley, Leiden University

Uniting Nations is a comparative study of Britons who worked in the United Nations and international non-governmental and civil society organizations from 1945 to 1970 and their role in forging the postwar international system. Daniel Gorman interweaves the personal histories of scores of individuals who worked in UN organizations, the world government movement, Quaker international volunteer societies, and colonial freedom societies to demonstrate how international public policy often emerged 'from the ground up.' He reveals the importance of interwar, Second World War, colonial, and voluntary experiences in inspiring international careers, how international and national identities intermingled in the minds of international civil servants and civil society activists, and the ways in which international policy is personal. It is in the personal relationships forged by international civil servants and activists, positive and negative, biased and altruistic, short-sighted or visionary, that the “international” is to be found in the postwar international order.

Introduction
1. International lives: Britons at the UN Secretariat
2. Global security, peacekeeping, and civilian aid
3. Global social governance
4. The dreamers: The world parliament movement
5. An experiment in international cooperation: The Friends Ambulance Unit Postwar and International Service, 1946–1959
6. The Movement for Colonial Freedom
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS]