The United Nations turns 80 this year. I loved talking to Professor Alanna O’Malley, a leading historian of the UN, who’s as meticulous in her research as she’s unafraid to express solidarity with oppressed people.
Alanna and I go way back. We were both doctoral students in history at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy. That was almost two decades ago!
We spoke about why Alanna was drawn to the history of the UN in the first place (her Irish background has a lot to do with it).
She talked about why she dislikes using words like “unprecedented” and “crisis” to describe the state of the UN today, and why she hesitates using “achievements and failures” to assess the UN’s historical record.
We give the UN… on an annual basis less than 1% of global military expenditure to perform peace-keeping… bearing in mind also that the world’s biggest arms dealers sit with a permanent veto on the Security Council. You have to have in mind these two basic facts when you think about the UN saving humanity.
We spoke about Alanna’s current research, which focuses on the agency of UN countries from the Global South in light of broader histories of decolonization and liberation struggles.
Alanna didn’t mince words when she said that the UN has, unfortunately, failed abysmally in preventing recent mass atrocities and genocide in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, and elsewhere.
But she also reminded me that the UN mainly focuses on social and economic development:
I think people should understand that the majority of the UN’s work [around 80%] is in economic and social development... and that work is a precursor to lessening the likelihood of violent conflict.
Alanna reflected on the UN’s role in the political demands of the Palestinians. She said something important: Despite the UN’s shortcomings, many Palestinians still view the UN as a key battleground for their political struggle.
To learn more about Alanna and her work, please visit https://www.eur.nl/en/people/alanna-sylver-omalley
To get a taste of her research on the history of the UN and the Global South check this out: https://humanityjournal.org/issue13-1/introduction-shaping-a-global-horizon-new-histories-of-the-global-south-and-the-un/
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