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This short and well-written overview provides essential information on the history of international organizations (IOs), with particular focus on the League of Nations, the development of the United Nations, and the UN system. Starting at the beginning of the twentieth century, when there were very few international organizations in existence, A World Beyond Borders traces the growth of IOs through to the close of the century, when there were literally thousands at the heart of the international system. Following this chronological order, the book examines how international organizations became the major legal, moral, and cultural forces that they are today, involved in all aspects of international relations including peacekeeping, disarmament, peace resolution, human rights, diplomacy, and environmentalism. This book is the first in the Canadian Historical Association / University of Toronto Press International Themes and Issues Series, which is dedicated to publishing concise, focused overviews of topics that are of international significance in the study of history

The United Nations (and the associated specialized agencies, commissions, and committees that make up the "UN system") turns 70 this year and, as it has at every major anniversary, it faces another round of demands for its reform. Looking back at its history, it is clear that the UN is not as good at "reform" as it is at "adaptation"—reinventing itself with each generation to meet changing global challenges. Indeed, it could be argued that because the organization responds to the demands of its members and focuses its attention on those issues selected by the members, since 1945 the UN has always reflected its time—and the interests of its member-governments—and adapted to the changing world around it. It is likely to continue doing so in the future and, in this way, it remains forever adaptable.

The Canadian Co-operation Project (CCP) was one of the more unusual episodes in the economic and cultural relationship of Canada and the United States. Conceived between the federal government and the Hollywood film industry, the 1948 agreement called on Hollywood to produce more films in Canada and to make efforts to promote American tourism in Canada. The paper argues that the CCP was less the surrender to Hollywood than is generally understood and more an early example of cultural diplomacy in which the Canadian government used cultural relations with the United States for its own ends, primarily the promotion of tourism in Canada.