The Third UN is the ecology of supportive non-state actors-intellectuals, scholars, consultants, think tanks, NGOs, the for-profit private sector, and the media-that interacts with the intergovernmental machinery of the First UN (member states) and the Second UN (staff members of international secretariats) to formulate and refine ideas and decision-making at key junctures in policy processes.

As seen in the World Politics Review, “[Tatiana and Thomas] make a solid case that ideas matter at the U.N. and that “if the world organization is to survive and remain relevant, the vast bulk of ideas necessary to meet these challenges will come from the outsider-insiders of the Third UN.” This is an excellent handbook for researchers wondering how to get the U.N. to listen to their big ideas and a must-read for anyone who wants to get into the U.N. advocacy business.”