A history of international organisations (IOs) entitled "A World Beyond Borders" seems both, long due and promising. To be clear from the start: This is a helpful book that nevertheless bases rather on conventional narratives and thus will not truly satisfy historians aiming at a global history of international organisations.

Other authors tried to tackle the history of international organisations with the classic focus on the 19th and 20th century, most prominently Akira Iriye, Madeleine Herren and Bob Reinalda. [1] While Iriye delivers a general overview and the narrative of an evolving “global community”, Herren provides a very empirical introduction that is of utmost value to study IOs from a perspective of entangled history. Reinalda offers an encyclopaedic overview with enriching insights but does not present a new narrative of IOs. So what is MacKenzie’s contribution in this context?