A review by marcynewman
No Enchanted Palace: The End of Empire and the Ideological Origins of the United Nations by Mark Mazower

informative medium-paced

5.0

I found this book by accident, but I'm glad I discovered it. While much of what is in the book is based on ideas I suspected in one way or another, it is fascinating to read the detailed historical elements behind those suspicions. Essentially Mazower explores the theory that the United Nations was created to preserve empire rather than to destroy it (this is why the veto power and the Security Council are set up in a way that favors particular states). The most fascinating element of this story is that of Jan Smuts, one of the architects of apartheid in South Africa who is also one of the architects of the United Nations. He framed documents to structure both systems--the state and the UN--in ways that would serve the British empire in particular. What he did not account for was the way that leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru--anticipating the Non-Aligned Movement post independence--would use the General Assembly to his own ends in ways that ultimately would lead to the downfall of apartheid in South Africa as well. Anyone interested in the birth of the United Nations should read this book as it is clear and well written and deeply interesting.