Book Details

Ahead of the Curve? UN Ideas and Global Challenges

The authors find that in many instances, UN ideas about how to tackle problems of global import were sound and far-sighted, although they often fell on the deaf ears of powerful member states until it was apparent that a different approach was needed. UN conferences, for example, provided the first forums for addressing issues that rather belatedly became global concerns, such as gender equality, population growth, and environmental problems.

Better late than never, the United Nations demonstrated the severe limitations of neo-liberal economic orthodoxy promoted by the Bretton Woods institutions. Only recently have these institutions begun to reevaluate their approach to consider the importance of putting people first.

The UN was also at the forefront in acknowledging the importance of non-governmental organizations for good global governance. The UN has consistently enlisted their expertise and support in implementing policies, setting the trend for the future course of development.

The authors find important areas where the UN has not stood constructively at the fore. They lament, for example, the UN's hesitation in formulating a global response to the AIDS pandemic and tardiness in pointing out the human costs and growing income gaps associated with economic liberalization and globalization.

Louis Emmerij is Senior Research Fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he is co-director of the United Nations Intellectual History Project. Until 1999 he was special adviser to the president of the Inter-American Development Bank. Before that he had a distinguished career as president of the OECD Development Centre, rector of the Institute for Social Studies in The Hague, and director of the ILO's World Employment Programme. Among his recent books are Economic and Social Development into the 21st Century, editor; Limits to Competition, co-author; and Nord-Sud: La Grenade Degoupilée.

Richard Jolly is Senior Research Fellow at the CUNY Graduate Center, where he is co-director of the United Nations Intellectual History Project and Professor Emeritus at the University of Sussex. Until mid-200 he was special adviser to the UNDP administrator and architect of the widely-acclaimed Human Development Report. Before this, he served for fourteen years as UNICEF's deputy executive director for programmes. Publications to which he has contributed include Development with a Human Face; The UN and the Bretton Woods Institutions: New Challenges for the Twenty-First Century; and Adjustment with a Human Face.

Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor at The CUNY Graduate Center, where he is co-director of the United Nations Intellectual History Project and editor of Global Governance. From 1990 to 1998, as a Research Professor at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies, he served as the Executive Director of the Academic Council on the UN system, and co-directed the Humanitarianism and War Project. His latest books are Military-Civilian Interactions: Intervening in Humanitarian Crises; Humanitarian Challenges and Intervention, 2nd edition with Cindy Collins; and The United Nations and Changing World Politics, 3rd edition with Roger A. Coate and David P. Forsythe.

• UN Voices
• Catalysing Development? A Debate On Aid

• The Art of War
• Confessions of an Economic Hit Man
• Perfect Phrases for Performance Reviews