Ronny Patz and Klaus H. Goetz. 2019. Managing Money and Discord in the UN: Budgeting and Bureaucracy (Oxford: Oxford University Press)

Excerpt

The United Nations (UN) system is the world’s foremost and arguably most complex set of international organizations. In Managing Money and Discord at the UN: Budgeting and Bureaucracy, Ronny Patz and Klaus H. Goetz unpack one of the central – and often overlooked – dimensions of the UN: its budgets and budgetary processes. What might sound overly technical to some is indeed a fascinating subject of analysis. It allows the authors to dive deep into UN idiosyncrasies while keeping an eye on the larger (geo)political dynamics connecting member states and international bureaucracies. With a combination of quantitative and qualitative evidence, Patz and Goetz do not only speak to a handful of UN financing aficionados but provide an insightful account for everyone interested in a sophisticated understanding of the UN system. …