Building States: The United Nations, Development, and Decolonization, 1945-1965

Postwar multilateral cooperation was an attempt to overcome the limitations of the nation-state system, but in 1945, large parts of the world were still under imperial control. Building States investigates how the UN tried to manage the dissolution of European empires in the 1950s and 1960s and helped transform the practice of international development and the meaning of state sovereignty. Eva-Maria Muschik argues that the UN played a key role in the global proliferation and reinvention of the nation-state in the postwar era, as newly independent states came to rely on international assistance.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 392 pages
Publication date: 12 April 2022
Publisher: Columbia University Press

Postwar multilateral cooperation is often seen as an attempt to transcend the constraints of the nation-state system. However, in 1945, when the United Nations was established, vast regions of the world remained under imperial control.

Building States delves into how the UN attempted to navigate the dissolution of European empires in the 1950s and 1960s and, in doing so, profoundly impacted the practice of international development and the concept of state sovereignty.

Eva-Maria Muschik contends that the UN played a pivotal role in the global proliferation and reinvention of the nation-state during the postwar era. As newly independent states sought international assistance, they increasingly relied on the United Nations.

Drawing on previously untapped primary sources, Muschik meticulously traces how UN personnel, often in close collaboration with Western officials, worked to peacefully manage decolonization through international development assistance.

Examining initiatives in Libya, Somaliland, Bolivia, the Congo, and New York, Muschik demonstrates how the UN pioneered a novel understanding and practice of state building, presenting it as a technical challenge for international experts rather than a political process.

UN officials increasingly assumed public-policy functions, despite the organization's mandate not to interfere in the domestic affairs of its member states. These initiatives, Muschik suggests, had lasting consequences for international development practice, peacekeeping, and post-conflict territorial administration.

Building States sheds new light on how international organizations emerged as significant players in the governance of developing countries, with profound implications for the histories of decolonization, the Cold War, and international development.

Weight: 594g
Dimension: 152 x 229 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780231200257