ABSTRACT
UNESCO inherited the hopeful legacy of humanistic philosophy but also the tragic burden of two great wars. In the last 65 years it has struggled to define its overwhelming sense of purpose through the practical difficulties of running a secretariat, conferring with national delegations and commissions, involving non-state actors, and providing a home to the world’s intellectuals. The considerable moral force of UNESCO’s ideals has thus been tempered by the politics and functional difficulties of convening global actors to deliberate peace, forge global ethics, and provide a normative agenda for education, science, culture, and communication. Sixty-five years after its establishment, UNESCO has survived the political upheavals of the ColdWar, the entry of postcolonial states, the exit of the United Kingdom and United States in 1984-85 and their subsequent re-entry in 1997 and 2003 respectively, and the post-Cold War world of multiple actors and identities. The first two sections of this chapter provide a brief historical survey
of UNESCO’s creation and the subsequent political context for the organization’s functioning. Next the chapter describes the broad tenets of the five sectors in UNESCO and the international agreements that they
have furthered. These sectors are: education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, communication and information. Lastly the chapter takes up the nuts and bolts of UNESCO’s bureaucracy and leadership and the way that it works through various conferences, meetings and budgetary processes.
