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 | No Enchanted Palace: |
No Enchanted Palace traces the origins and early development of the United Nations, one of the most influential yet perhaps least understood organizations active in the world today. Acclaimed historian Mark Mazower forces us to set aside the popular myth that the UN miraculously rose from the ashes of World War II as the guardian of a new and peaceful global order, offering instead a strikingly original interpretation of the UN's ideological roots, early history, and changing role in world affairs. Mazower brings the founding of the UN brilliantly to life. He shows how the UN's creators envisioned a world organization that would protect the interests of empire, yet how this imperial vision was decisively reshaped by the postwar reaffirmation of national sovereignty and the unanticipated rise of India and other former colonial powers. This is a story told through the clash of personalities, such as South African statesman Jan Smuts, who saw in the UN a means to protect the old imperial and racial order; Raphael Lemkin and Joseph Schechtman, Jewish intellectuals at odds over how the UN should combat genocide and other atrocities; and Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, who helped transform the UN from an instrument of empire into a forum for ending it. A much-needed historical reappraisal of the early development of this vital world institution, No Enchanted Palace reveals how the UN outgrew its origins and has exhibited an extraordinary flexibility that has enabled it to endure to the present day. Mark Mazower is the Ira D. Wallach Professor of History and World Order Studies at Columbia University. His many books include Hitler's Empire: How the Nazis Ruled Europe (Penguin); Salonica, City of Ghosts: Christians, Muslims, and Jews, 1430-1950 (HarperCollins); and Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century (Knopf). "One of the most distinguished historians of his generation."--New York Review of Books "The finest historian of twentieth-century Europe."--Jonathan Keates, Times Literary Supplement "A slim yet provocative volume that reveals the UN's origins in colonial imperialism."--Anna Mundow, Boston Globe Endorsements: "This is a sprawling tale told with great energy, verve, and insight. Mazower offers an original and disturbing picture of the ideological foundations of the great sacred cow of postwar international institutions. No Enchanted Palace will be a much discussed volume in what is likely to be a continuing debate over the future of the United Nations."--Sunil Khilnani, author of The Idea of India "This is a superb, highly readable account of the ideas and some of the events that informed the creation and early history of the United Nations. No Enchanted Palace is an engaging and penetrating work, and a timely reminder of the need to think historically about the UN and its place in world affairs."--Peter Wilson, London School of Economics and Political Science Acknowledgments vii Another Princeton book by Mark Mazower: Subject Areas: | |||||
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