WORLD FUTURES AND THE UNITED-NATIONS - A GUIDE TO RECENT LITERATURE

Much has been written on globalization, turbulence, multiple transformations, various threats to the future of humanity and the directions the United Nations system should pursue to improve its capacity to guide us towards a positive future for all. This bibliographic article surveys a broad range of recent English-language literature, first appearing as abstracts in Future Survey. In doing so, a framework for improved thinking about world futures is suggested, illustrating the vast but untapped potential for integrative scholarship. In all, a total of 250 books, reports and articles are cited. Although many of the authors ave Americans, the views of Canadians, Europeans, and a few non-Western thinkers are also noted here, in addition to many UN reports. As this survey makes abundantly clear, the UN and its far-flung agencies have become major actors in serious thinking about would futures, although there is a lag in perceiving this emerging role.