Thomas Weiss and Dan Plesch, eds.
We are Strong
Wartime Origins and the Future United Nations
Routledge 2015
New Books in HistoryNew Books in Peoples & PlacesNew Books in Politics & SocietyNew Books in World AffairsNew Books Network March 5, 2015 Heath Brown
Thomas Weiss and Dan Plesch are the co-editors of We Are Strong: Wartime Origins and the Future United Nations (Routledge, 2015). Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science and Director Emeritus of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies at The City University of New York’s Graduate Center; Plesch is Director of the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy at SOAS, University of London.
They write in the introduction “Today a key question that ought to be in bold-faced type on the agenda of global governance is: ‘Do we need another cataclysm to re-kindle the imagination and energy and cooperation that was in the air in the 1940s, or are we smart enough to adapt in anticipation?'” Much of the book is built on a hope that the answer to this question is the later, and that world leaders look to the historical lessons delivered in each chapter. Weiss and Plesch break the book into sections: Planning and Propaganda, Human Security, and Economic Development. One is left believing that the original design of the various appendages of the United Nations was the work of truly forward-looking planners, and that while the current institution may not resemble the original vision, much could be gained by looking back to what they designed.
Podcast: Download ()
Share/Like this:
- Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
- Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
- Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)