Anti-Fascist Internationalism & the United Nations: A Better World for All

In this talk, Professor Sandrine Kott shifts the focus away from the usual emphasis on the confrontation between the superpowers to look at the work of a group of international civil servants and experts. These actors, often social democrats shaped by the anti-fascism of the interwar and the war period, continued to exert significant influence in international forums well after 1945 and contributed greatly to developing spaces for dialogue between the East, the West, and the Third World.

Drawing on discussions within the United Nations Secretariat and key specialized agencies, she highlights how these actors promoted Keynesian economic thinking, national and international social justice, and international development planning as part of a broader project to secure peace through greater equality.

The passing of this generation was accompanied by the gradual abandonment of regulatory ideals aimed at greater national and global equality, paving the way for the world in which we live today.

This event will be held in room G13, Malet Street.

For information contact Katy (k.pettit@bbk.ac.uk)

Raphael Samuel History Centre in partnership with Centre for the Study of Internationalism