Building the United Nations Headquarters as Worldmaking? Settler Colonialism, Modernist Architecture, and the Material Infrastructure for the Post-World WarII Order

IF 1.4 3区社会学 Q2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Alternatives Pub Date : 2022-08-01 DOI:10.1177/03043754221109705

Robert Flahive

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Abstract

What does it mean for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) building to be designed through modernist architecture principles on land acquired through settler colonialism? In 1947, construction began on the United Nations Headquarters (UNHQ) in Manhattan, a name derived from Manna-hata, a site within Lenapehoking, the homeland of Indigenous Lenape peoples violently displaced by waves of Dutch, British, and American settlers starting in the 17th century. This paper analyzes the structural dynamics that is in the literal foundations of the United Nations Headquarters, the post-World War II (WWII) worldmaking project intended to safeguard international order. By marshaling the history of Lenapehoking and analyzing the design principles informing the UNGA building, this paper narrows the claim that the post-WWII worldmaking project was contingent upon settler colonialism. Through a capacious reading of settler colonial theory, architectural history, and International Relations (IR), this paper aims to open up conversations on the ongoing structural and spatial dynamics embedded in the foundations of the UNGA building that are constitutive of the post-WWII international order.

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把联合国总部打造成世界？定居者殖民主义、现代主义建筑和二战后秩序的物质基础设施

在通过定居者殖民主义获得的土地上，按照现代主义建筑原则设计联合国大会大楼意味着什么？1947年，位于曼哈顿的联合国总部（UNHQ）开始动工，这个名字来源于Lenapehoking内的Manna hata，Lenapehokin是17世纪开始因荷兰、英国和美国定居者的浪潮而暴力流离失所的土著Lenape人的家园。本文分析了联合国总部的结构动力，这是二战后旨在维护国际秩序的世界性项目。通过整理Lenapehoking的历史，并分析UNGA建筑的设计原则，本文缩小了二战后世界创造项目取决于定居者殖民主义的说法。通过对定居者殖民理论、建筑史和国际关系（IR）的广泛阅读，本文旨在就联合国大会建筑基础中正在进行的结构和空间动力学展开对话，这些结构和空间动态是二战后国际秩序的组成部分。

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来源期刊

Alternatives INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS-

CiteScore

2.30

自引率

15.40%

发文量

期刊介绍： A peer-reviewed journal, Alternatives explores the possibilities of new forms of political practice and identity under increasingly global conditions. Specifically, the editors focus on the changing relationships between local political practices and identities and emerging forms of global economy, culture, and polity. Published in association with the Center for the Study of Developing Societies (India).