The United Nations under Trygve Lie, 1945-1953

This volume traces the events and personalities that led to the creation of the United Nations and analyzes the period spanning the tenure of its first secretary-general, Trygve Lie. It is also, in part, a book about the Cold War. The author shows that the end of Great Power cooperation prevented the United Nations from taking an active role in promoting international cooperation, and that, instead, it became an arena for contesting some of the most dangerous confrontations between the Soviet Union and the West.