What is the purpose behind the UN Intellectual History Project?
The United Nations is seen by many as a rigid bureaucracy without sparkle, wit, or creativity. The general public – graciously stimulated by the mass media – sees a traveling circus, a talk shop, and paper-pushing. On and off there are tales of corruption. This is, we submit, a very uneven view of the world organization. An intellectual history did not exist for the United Nations. Attention mostly concentrated on the UN’s political and security side and not on its activities in economic and social development. Our original purpose was to complete the record. Ideas are at least as important for this area as for international peace and security. In 1999 we (Emmerij, Jolly and Weiss) decided to fill this gap- as best we could with available resources and within a decade-with the United Nations Intellectual History Project (UNIHP) as an independent endeavor. We benefited from the confidence and financial support of both governments and foundations that, like us, could not believe that thi
