| Ideas and concepts are a main driving force in human progress, and they are arguably the
most important contribution of the United Nations. Yet, there has been little historical study of the origins and evolution
of the history of economic and social ideas cultivated within the world organization and of their impact on wider thinking and
international action. The United Nations Intellectual History Project is filling this knowledge gap about the UN by tracing the
origin and analyzing the evolution of key ideas and concepts about international economic and social development born or nurtured
under UN auspices.
The UNIHP began operations in mid-1999 when the secretariat, the
hub of a worldwide network of specialists on the UN, was established
at the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies of The CUNY
Graduate Center. Fifteen volumes (nine have already been published
and two are in press) have been commissioned and are being published
by Indiana University Press. In addition, the Oxford Handbook on
the United Nations, which will become the standard reference, is
in press by Oxford University Press. See our publications
page for the latest updates.
The project is actively disseminating its findings through publications,
seminars, and conferences as widely as possible in order to stimulate
debate on the importance of the UN in the 21st century and to stimulate
additional exploration of the UN's record by academics and graduate
students, by journalists and policy analysts, in both developed
and especially developing countries. See our seminars
and conferences page for details.
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