Recent discussions on the United Nations (UN) often centre on narratives of institutional failure, particularly within Western policy and academic circles. However, in a recent conversation with Dan Banik (University of Oslo), ESHCC’s Alanna O’Malley gives a different perspective on the UN by viewing it through the lens of the Global South.
The conversation took place on Banik’s podcast In Pursuit of Development, which through its episodes, centres around questioning conventional understandings of progress. In this latest episode, O’Malley—Professor and Chair of Global Governance & Wealth and Head of the History Department at ESHCC—draws on her forthcoming book, Decolonising Global Order, whilst discussing the hidden histories of the United Nations and highlighting the decisive role of the Global South in shaping global governance.
As O’Malley argues in the conversation, much of what we know about the UN is shaped through a Western lens, which often prioritises peace and security. However, such readings, she argues, obscure alternative histories in which the UN functions as a platform for postcolonial agency and political dynamism.
Since the 1960s, countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America have formed the majority of UN member states. Despite having been unable to often leverage this majority with meaningful impact against the North, O’Malley explains that these states have actively used the organisation to advance agendas on economic sovereignty, development, and global justice.
Through their conversation O’Malley and Banik present a perspective that reframes the UN not just as what some might see as a failing institution, but as a living archive of political struggle—one that can give greater clarity on such debates as global inequality and governance.
- Researcher
- More information
You can listen to the full episode here.
