Topic

Expertise in the International Sphere

Under this thematic focus Polish experts are examined who held key positions in the administrations of the League of Nations and the United Nations and coupled these with their (trans-)regional connections to pursue alternative political agendas which aimed at reshaping international politics.

Secrétariat de la SDN: Section d'Hygiène, United Nations Archives at Geneva. Photo S18.

Experts in the Secretariats of the League of Nations and the United Nations and Their (Trans-)Regional ConnectionsEast-Central European actors’ positions in international politics has long been studied in the light of a seeming belated and repeatedly constrained state sovereignty which led to a focus on official diplomacy and a narrative for restricted scopes of action in the international sphere. Recent research approaches examine, however, experts, activists or international officials who engaged in international organizations. This study centres on experts from Poland who coupled their formally technically positions in the secretariats of the League of Nations and the United Nations with their (trans-)regional connections to pursue alternative political agendas which aimed at reshaping international politics. With biographical and network-oriented approaches, it follows protagonists and their professional and political connections, who played an influential role in significant international policy fields, such as health, world trade and disarmament. The specifics of their life and career paths, shaped, among others, by experiences of escape and diaspora are highlighted to gain new insights into the histories of the League and UN, as well as into yet less studied aspect of Poland’s international history. 

 

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