Educational multilateralism in a changing world order: Unesco and the limits of the possible

This paper provides a critical re-valuation of Unesco's work in education over the last five decades, updating this story to include the most recent decade of crisis and reform within the organization and within the United Nations more broadly. Drawing on interviews within Unesco, a wide range of Unesco documentation and secondary sources, the paper addresses two main questions. First, what can Unesco's 52 years of experience in the field of education tell us about the possibilities and limits of multilateral cooperation in education? Second, how (and how successfully) has Unesco adapted to changes in world order over the last two decades?