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Editors Karin van Leeuwen and Morten Rasmussen explain how their Cambridge Handbook uses deep archival research across dozens of collections and brings together international contributors to reveal how the League of Nations used legal techniques, institutions, and networks to shape an incipient form of global governance. The episode highlights key findings — the League’s legal section and court experiments, tensions between sovereign equality and imperial hierarchies, and case studies like Upper Silesia and the Manchurian crisis — and argues the handbook reframes the League as central to the development of international law and institutions, while noting the limits of ‘‘peace through law". Resources: Ask a Librarian! Ask an Archivist! Ikonomou, H. A. et al. (eds.) (2026) The Cambridge Handbook of the League of Nations and International Law. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.  Available via Global Search   Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/  Content    Guests: Karin van Leeuwen Morten Rasmussen Host: Amy Smith Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Mario Oyarzábal, Member of the International Law Commission and the Legal Advisor to the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs, discusses the new book International Law for Diplomats, a concise, practitioner-focused guide written to help diplomats—lawyers and non-lawyers alike—handle real-world issues like treaty negotiation, state immunities, use of force, human rights, and dispute settlement. The episode explains the book’s structure around systemic issues, current issues, and practical craft, its accessible style, and the UN Legal Counsel’s foreword. Its central message is that international law is not a specialist domain but diplomacy’s keystone, essential for advancing state interests and reinforcing the rule of law. Mario Oyarzábal reminds us, "that international law is a toolbox for cooperation for resolving disputes peacefully, for accountability."   Resources: Ask a Librarian! Ask an Archivist! International Law for Diplomats Available via Global Search Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/  Content    Guest: Ambassador Mario Oyarzábal Host: Amy Smith Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

This is AI x Multilateralism, a playlist of conversations at the UN Library & Archives Geneva where we’re joined by experts who help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.   The environmental impact of AI systems is becoming clearer and increasingly discussed. But what if we went beyond this to look at how the success of AI is dependent on the earth’s resources? In this episode we are joined by Martín Tironi Rodó, Director of FAIR, the Futures of Artificial Intelligence Research Nucleus, and the sociologist of Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. He shares why artificial intelligence is deeply interconnected with planetary intelligence, and calls for more research, agency and leadership across Chile and Latin America in shaping the future of AI. Resources: Learn about the Futures of Artificial Intelligence Research (FAIR) Nucleus Discover the Conceptual Cartographies of AI Explore the Hybrid Ecologies Exhibition Discover the exhibition Bajo nuestros pies: The Rare Earths of AI Consult Martin's work and research publications Production:    Guest: Martín Tironi Rodó Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien  Podcast Music credits: Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/img/sequence License code: AVHFBHYLV8MCYE1C

In this episode we explore some of the emotional and psychological life of international governance. Professor Daniel Laqua, Professor Dan Gorman and Dr. Anne-Isabelle Richard talk about GLO, a transatlantic research project examining how civil society, activists, and NGOs have campaigned to build, shape, reform or put an end to international organizations from the early 20th century to the early 2000s. They discuss findings from the project about emotional experiences such as love, hate, trust, and sense of belonging in this context, and consider the way people relate to and through international institutions through psychodynamic concepts of projection and transference. Listen to examples from the League of Nations, United Nations Associations, Jubilee 2000, and the Council of Europe. Learn about the archival research methods, and what grassroots diplomacy suggests about the possibilities of change. Resources: Ask a Librarian! Ask an Archivist! Global Governance Trust and Democratic Engagement in Past and Present (GLO) Project website: https://research.northumbria.ac.uk/glo The podcast was recorded on the occasion of the conference ‘Love, Hate, and the Fate of International Organisations: The Psychological Life of Global Governance (1900–Present)’, held at the Geneva Graduate Institute https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/communications/events/love-hate-and-fate-international-organisations-psychological-life-global   Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/b8_gKFMad20 Content    Guests: Professor Daniel Laqua, Northumbria University, UK. Professor Dan Gorman, University of Waterloo, Canada. Dr. Anne-Isabelle Richard, Institute for History, Leiden University. Host: Amy Smith Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

This is AI x Multilateralism, a playlist of conversations at the UN Library & Archives Geneva where we’re joined by experts who help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.   Should philanthropy be a part of the development and governance of AI? We’re exploring this question with Hubert Halopé and Giuseppe Ugazio, both part of the team at the Artificial Intelligence & Philanthropy Project at the University of Geneva. They explore: - Why studying the links between AI and philanthropy matter. - The findings in the project's open source book, The Routledge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Philanthropy, including how AI can be used within philanthropy itself, and how philanthropy can impact the inclusive and responsible development and use of AI. - Why philanthropic organisations should play a key role in AI governance and in the ethical use of AI, and  - How philanthropy can be present in multilateral AI governance mechanisms at the UN. Resources: Learn about the Artificial Intelligence & Philanthropy Project at the University of Geneva. Read The Routledge Handbook of Artificial Intelligence and Philanthropy (open source version), edited by Giuseppe Ugazio & Milos Maricic. Read Giuseppe's recommended book, The Green and The Blue: Digital Politics in Philosophical Discussion, edited by Luciano Floridi and Jörg Noller. Production:    Guests: Giuseppe Ugazio and Hubert Halopé Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien  Podcast Music credits: Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/img/sequence License code: NXAZUHU70MDKU4E9 #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Philanthropy #Governance

In this episode Lynda Chinenye Iroulo, Assistant Professor of International Relations at Georgetown University in Qatar, discusses how African states actively shaped multilateral institutions. Drawing on her research in decolonial international relations and the design of regional organizations, she talks about the history behind the African Union, the African Peer Review Mechanism, and the push for common African positions at the UN. Lynda highlights examples such as the shift from non‑intervention to the responsibility to protect, reforms in peace support operations, debates over the ICC, and ongoing calls for UN reform. She argues for a post‑colonial institutionalist lens to make African contributions visible and to rethink how global institutions are designed and implemented. Resources: Ask a Librarian! Essays on Global Regionalism Acharya, A., De Lombaerde, P., Futák-Campbell, B., Iroulo, L. C., & Batista, J. P. (Eds.). (2026). Essays on Global Regionalism I: The Past, Present and Future of Regionalism Studies. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-13642-8 Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/ Content    Guest: Lynda Chinenye Iroulu, Assistant Professor, Georgetown University in Qatar https://www.qatar.georgetown.edu/faculty/lynda-chinenye-iroulo/ Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

This is AI x Multilateralism, a playlist of conversations at the UN Library & Archives Geneva where we’re joined by experts who help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.   For this conversation we’re joined by Emily Tucker, Executive Director at the Center on Privacy & Technology and Adjunct Professor of Law, at Georgetown Law. There are many calls today to enact redlines for AI, but what about redlines for data? In this episode, we explore Emily’s work and research on what’s called datafication. She shares what this means, the impact of datafication on political participation and the public interest, and the implications for our collective capacity to create the futures we want as communities and societies. She also reflects on three priorities for data redlines, and what multilateral fora should be asking when it comes to how data is collected and used in today’s world.   Resources: Learn about the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown Law Read Emily's article "To Have Democracy, We Must Contest Data" on TechPolicy.Press Consult Emily's recommendation: "Datafication", by Ulises A Mejias and Nick Couldry (open access article, UN Library & Archives Geneva) Explore the work of The Distributed AI Research Institute, Emily's recommended open access resource. Production:    Guest: Emily Tucker Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien  Podcast Music credits: Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/img/sequence License code: QZDC3ZLHIU6QJTSO #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Data #DataRedlines #Datafication

Professor Marilyne Andersen, Director-General of GESDA explains how anticipatory science diplomacy works: gathering scientists’ foresight, translating breakthroughs into policy and practice, and preparing society for disruptive technologies. The episode covers GESDA’s Radar of 5–25-year futures, the Open Quantum Institute’s “Quantum for All” approach, the importance of open science and inclusivity, training for decision‑makers, and the role of art in engaging the public. Explore the GESDA Science Breakthrough Radar®: https://radar.gesda.global/ Resources: Ask a Librarian! Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/fSosq7RxZ2c Content    Guest: Marilyne Andersen https://www.gesda.global/team-member/marilyneandersen/ Hosts: Amy Smith and Wouter Schallier Production and editing: Amy Smith Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

This is AI x Multilateralism, a playlist of conversations at the UN Library & Archives Geneva where we’re joined by experts who help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.   In this episode, we're joined by Wendell Wallach, a bioethicist who's been working on the ethics and governance of emerging technologies for decades. He’s the author of two books – A Dangerous Master, and Moral Machines – and until 2024, co-led the Carnegie Council’s AI and Equality Initiative. He’s also senior advisor to The Hastings Center, and a scholar at Yale University’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics, where for 11 years he chaired Technology and Ethics studies. For this episode, we’re sharing excerpts from a wide-ranging conversation where he shares his views on the ethics and governance of AI, the continued relevance of his books on robots and technologies many years after they were first published, what we can learn from bioethics, and the urgent need for oversight to align technology with human and environmental interests. Resources: Read "A Framework for the International Governance of AI" - Carnegie Council's AI & Equality Initiative. Read the new preface to "A Dangerous Master - How to Keep Technology from Slipping Beyond Our Control" by Wendell Wallach. Visit Wendell Wallach's website. Learn about the UN Global Dialogue on AI Governance and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI. Production:    Guest: Wendell Wallach Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien  Editorial assistance: Amy Smith and Wouter Schallier Podcast Music credits: Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!):  https://uppbeat.io/t/img/sequence  License code: 18P7IHFDKCA4SHFM Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva  #AI #Multilateralism #AIEthics #AIGovernance

Start Close In: Diplomacy, Technology, and the Ground Beneath Our Feet In this episode of The Next Page, we talk with Anja Kaspersen — an IEEE director and former director of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs in Geneva and Deputy Secretary General of the Conference on Disarmament — about having more confident discussions on technology, and how poetry, attention, and disciplined perception can guide diplomacy in an age of emerging technologies. Anja argues that the ground for engagement is not technical mastery but institutional literacy. She explains why diplomats should remain at the table, ask architectural questions, and translate between technical and policy worlds. The conversation covers science diplomacy, the changing nature of arms control and dual-use technologies, the importance of redundancy, resilience, and interoperability, and the need for anticipatory governance rather than reactive responses. Takeaways include strengthening discernment, preserving archives and institutional memory, resisting binary framings, and investing in human skills to govern technology responsibly. Resources: Ask a Librarian! David Whyte: https://davidwhyte.com/ Maria Popova: https://www.themarginalian.org/  Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/w4L1S0nhCoo Content    Guest: Anja Kaspersen Hosts: Amy Smith and Wouter Schallier Production and editing: Amy Smith Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

Historian Alanna O'Malley explores how Global South actors have shaped the United Nations, arguing we should view today's challenges as an opportunity for a UN 'renaissance' rather than a collapse. She highlights invisible histories, multi-alignment strategies, regional and minilateral developments, and the need for Charter reform, greater legitimacy, accountability and public engagement to renew multilateralism. Professor O'Malley reflects from a historical point of view on the upcoming process of selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General highlighting the importance that broad global perspective and public traction need to play and urges recognizing the UN as a flexible, multipurpose institution that must be retooled and better resourced to protect sovereignty, human rights and equal representation. Resources: Ask a Librarian! https://www.eur.nl/en/people/alanna-sylver-omalley Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/kjatLR9EjHY Content    Guest: Professor Dr. Alanna O'Malley Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

This is AI x Multilateralism, a playlist of conversations at the Commons, our space at the UN Library & Archives Geneva for sharing knowledge on multilateralism. In this series, we’re joined by experts who help us unpack the many ideas and issues at the nexus of AI and international cooperation.   In this episode we ask: can AI help us better predict, respond to, and recover from crises? We’re joined by Dr. Martin Waehlisch, Associate Professor of Transformative Technologies, Innovation and Global Affairs at the University of Birmingham. He’s also part of the Research Team of the Crisis Computing Project, a global community of scholars and practitioners who are driven to put computation to better use.     He shares: what drives his teaching today on transformative technologies, and why he prefers the term “computational global affairs” to “international affairs” in today’s world what exactly crisis computing means, and the kinds of crises he hopes that AI can help us to address, from complex climate prediction to public participation in decision-making the potential of crisis computing at the local, regional and multilateral level, and his thoughts on how crisis computing can be addressed as part of the UN’s Global Dialogue on AI and the Independent International Scientific Panel on AI, both established by the UN General Assembly in 2025, and what is still missing in the global debate when it comes to how we use AI individually and collectively.  Resources mentioned:  The Crisis Computing Project: https://crisiscomputing.org/   The Peace and Security Data Hub : https://psdata.un.org/   The Complex Risk Analytics Fund (CRAF’d): https://crafd.io/ and the Humanitarian Data Exchange: https://data.humdata.org/   Production:    Guest: Dr. Martin Waehlisch  Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien  Podcast Music credits: Sequence: https://uppbeat.io/track/img/sequence Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/img/sequence License code: 6ZFT9GJWASPTQZL0 Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva  #AI #Multilateralism #CrisisComputing #CrisisResponse

In this episode we speak with Jean-Claude Burgelman about what open science means, why it accelerates innovation, and why we need it now. Jean-Claude Burgelman discusses practical benefits for businesses and NGOs, barriers like paywalled publishing and academic incentives, and the urgent need to make publicly funded data usable. Jean-Claude argues for multilateral infrastructure—a global open science cloud—and a new social contract for science, drawing on insights from this year's Frontiers Science House at Davos. The episode closes with a call to rethink institutions and governance so open science can drive faster, fairer solutions to global challenges. Resources: Ask a Librarian! Frontiers Planet Prize: https://www.frontiersplanetprize.org/  Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/QBWMVpmW3pI Content    Guest: Jean-Claude Burgelman Hosts: Amy Smith and Wouter Schallier Production and editing: UN Library & Archives Geneva Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva

This is AI x Multilateralism, a mini-series on The Next Page, where experts help us unpack the many ideas at the nexus of AI and international cooperation. Today, the majority of AI development and deployment is controlled by a small number of powerful firms. If this path continues, the next generation of digital infrastructure underpinning our societies will be privately owned and unaccountable to the public interest.  Is there another way, one where where AI serves the common good? In this episode, Jacob Taylor (Fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center for Sustainable Development and a 2025 Public AI Fellow) and Joshua Tan (Co-Founder and Research Director at Metagov) make the case for Public AI: shared, open AI infrastructure (much like highways, electricity grids, and public broadcasting), that is publicly responsible and harnessed to solve collective problems. Drawing on their article Public AI is the New Multilateralism and Metagov's Public AI White Paper, they argue that building public AI infrastructure can become a new form of multilateralism, where states, academia and civil society co‑create accessible, accountable AI systems that can be shared and re-purposed to meet a range of local, regional and global needs. They share real‑world examples of Public AI already emerging, explain why middle powers have the strongest incentives to lead Public AI, and outline an “Airbus for AI” model to close capability gaps, reduce the world's dependency on a few private platforms, and solve cross‑border problems. Resources mentioned:  The Public AI Inference Utility - publicai.co  Public AI - https://publicai.network/  Production:    Guests: Jacob Taylor and Joshua Tan Host, production and editing: Natalie Alexander Julien  Recorded & produced at the Commons, United Nations Library & Archives Geneva  Podcast Music credits: Sequence: https://uppbeat.io/track/img/sequence Music from Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/img/sequence License code: 6ZFT9GJWASPTQZL0 #AI #Multilateralism #PublicAI #AIInfrastructure

Our final episode of the year invites listeners into the life and legacy of U Thant, the longest‑serving Secretary‑General of the United Nations and a quiet architect of peace during some of the most dangerous moments of the Cold War. Drawing on the perspective of historian Thant Myint‑U, his grandson, the conversation revisits U Thant’s role in crises such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Congo, showing how his calm, principled diplomacy helped steer the world away from catastrophe. Grounded in Buddhist ethics and a deep belief in multilateral cooperation, U Thant’s leadership connected decolonization, social justice, and environmental concern long before these agendas were widely recognized on the global stage. Through archival stories and family memories, the episode explores how his example can inform efforts today to organize peace and renew trust in international institutions, as we reimagine the UN’s potential in a fractured world. Resources: Ask a Librarian! Myint-U, T. (2025). Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World. W. W. Norton & Company.  https://www.thantmyintu.com/peacemaker  Where to listen to this episode  Apple podcasts:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-next-page/id1469021154 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/10fp8ROoVdve0el88KyFLy YouTube: https://youtu.be/UJRXUC80BSc Content    Guest: Dr. Thant Myint-U Host, production and editing: Amy Smith, UN Library & Archives Geneva Recorded & produced at the United Nations Library & Archives Geneva