Lydia Hendriksma is a PhD researcher at the European University Institute in Florence. Lydia has a BA in History from Utrecht University and an MA in International Relations from Leiden University. Her previous research has focused on the influence of design on the working of diplomacy at the United Nations Headquarters. Currently, she is working on a PhD project on the place of the United Nations Secretariat in the international order in the mid-twentieth century.

Material and Immaterial Boundaries at the United Nations Headquarters in New York

Abstract: The United Nations Headquarters in New York sits on a 17-acre plot by the East River. Using visual sources, I will reconstruct changes to the boundaries of the UN premises over time. I will argue that boundary-keeping at the UN premises in New York arbitrates the organization’s relationship with the (international) public it claims to serve. Access to the UN is regulated through both material and immaterial boundaries. Visitors of all kinds – neighbors, tourists, journalists, activists, government representatives or heads of state – all encounter different ways of entry and different spaces in which to conduct their business with the UN. The regulation of movement and the way it changed over time show the shifting relationship of the UN with its perceived public. Reflecting on different material and immaterial boundaries in this context is evidence that securitization is not limited to areas of conflict such as Baghdad, Israel-Palestine or peacekeeping missions but extends to previously peaceful relationships and open sites of UN operations. Furthermore, it will reflect on how an understanding of space through material boundaries can help us understand the relationship between institutions and the publics they claim to serve. This reflection will highlight how values of democracy, engagement with civil society and inclusivity are not always reflected in boundary-keeping practices in a post-9/11 world.