Useful for students and teachers who are interested in international and especially UN history. (Bloomsbury Translation) * H-Soz-Kult *
Sayward's book is a welcome introduction to the United Nations ... It will be especially useful in introductory-level courses on the United Nations and upper-level classes on international history, as students will find much value in her rich overview. Her book also serves as a valuable starting point for graduate students, scholars, and journalists seeking an authoritative guide to the UN system and the growing body of scholarship dedicated to analyzing its history. * H-Diplo *
Amy Sayward had written a superbly balanced and comprehensive overview of how the United Nations has evolved and how it works. This book is a must-read primer for students and educators, young and older, as well as journalists and diplomats first embarking on U.N. assignments and needing perspective on the history of our most significant international organization, one that indeed has changed global society since World War II. Historians in particular will find Sayward's account a most valuable resource summarizing the U.N.'s past and aiding any assessment of its future. * David Scheffer, Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, USA *
A superb introduction to the UN's multifaceted role in the world, The United Nations in International History is an essential resource for students of internationalism and international governance. Combining masterful analyses of long-term developments with brisk, in-depth studies of key issues-from antecedents in 19th century scientific organizations to peacekeeping, refugee assistance, and human rights-Amy Sayward expertly charts a course through the history of the UN, its many agencies and functions, and its relations with other actors. With enticing suggestions for further research sprinkled throughout, this wonderful book is certain to energize the next wave of UN studies. * Barbara Keys, Associate Professor of History, The University of Melbourne, Australia *
United Nations diplomacy is multi-tonal and not monolithic. As such, the organisation provides a vital setting and source-base for working with diplomatic history and wider transnational histories. Across a variety of geographies, themes and global political contestations undertaking research on the United Nations offers a stimulating journey for exploring the major issues of our recent past and the present. Amy L. Sayward has produced a broad-ranging and most helpful introduction to how the United Nations can be a rich and rewarding subject of study for interested students and researchers. * Steven L. B. Jensen, The Danish Institute for Human Rights, Denmark *
Sawyard provides a comprehensive overview of the institution's scope of action in the international arena ... The monograph provides strong evidence of continuities at the institutional level and in daily practices. * Journal of Contemporary History *
