09.01.2026 New dataset on UN Trusteeship Council Debates released
The subproject B05 “Securitization and Desecuritization in International Trusteeship Administrations” has released a new dataset called “Contesting UN Trusteeship”.
The dataset sheds light on the processes of contestation negotiation and compromise between the United States as well as its allies and the Soviet Union. It hereby focuses on debates in the UN Trusteeship Council, an institution established in 1947 to oversee the administration of Trust Territories and their transition toward self-government and independence. These debates offer unique insights into how questions of external governance, development, political participation, and international responsibility were discussed and contested in the United Nations during the early Cold War.
By combining historical source work with text-as-data methods, the dataset enables researchers to systematically analyse how different actors framed various issues, such as independence, self-determination, and development, over time. It thus provides a new empirical basis for studying the historical roots of global governance structures and persistent international inequalities.
If you want to read more about the dataset and its development, be sure to read the accompanying blog post by Philipp Lottholz
Many thanks to Emma Fahr, Aidan Gnoth, Grigori Lifchits, Philipp Lottholz, and Karoline Möller for their development of and contribution to the database!
