📚 Publication Day: Mon livre " Rivalités pour la paix : Géopolitique de l'ONU " sort aujourd'hui en librairie ! 📚 #UNGA80 #NationsUnies #ONU80 #UN80 @dunod_editeur @ipinst @AfriThucy 👉 Disponible ici : shorturl.at/fyocZ

"Pérez de Cuéllar took the view that any campaigning he did would be likely to backfire and so retired to his beach house on the Peruvian coast, only keeping in very distant contact w negotiations through a junior Peruvian national member of UN Secretariat"1for8billion.org/backroom-de…

"Peacekeepers become a substitute for a political solution, when in fact they should be an enabling force for a political solution." The panel "What Future for UN Peacekeeping in the Eastern Mediterranean?" brought together Annika Hilding Norberg (@AnnikaHildingNo), Head of Peace Operations and Peacebuilding at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) (@TheGCSP); Dr Arthur Boutellis (@aboutellis), Non-resident Senior Adviser at the International Peace Institute (IPI) (@ipinst); and Dr Judith Vorrath of the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) (@SWPBerlin), moderated by Dr Carsten Wieland, Senior Associate at the PRIO Cyprus Centre (@PRIOCyprus). Dr Boutellis said UNIFIL (@UNIFIL_), almost 50 years old with some 8,000 peacekeepers from around 50 countries, will end not because its mandate succeeded but because the US would not back its renewal. Since 2006, it has been a stabilising force, monitoring the ground and acting as liaison between Lebanon and Israel. Peacekeepers can contain low-level incidents, he said, but cannot prevent all-out war when underlying political causes go unaddressed. Peacekeeping remains a cost-effective "small investment in peace with a relatively high return". Ms Hilding Norberg acknowledged that "the situation is of course dire", with conflicts doubling and multilateral mechanisms under intense pressure, but said that is all the more reason not to abandon peacekeeping. Future missions need lighter footprints, sharper analysis and new technology, and small, trusted observer missions offer a model. "UN peacekeeping needs to step up and keep up, if not ahead of the time." Dr Vorrath said the 11 ongoing missions must be politically backed and properly financed, so they can one day withdraw on the basis of a solution rather than suddenly. New missions face hard preconditions: consent of the parties and agreement in the Security Council. Coalitions and EU missions can support, she argued, but there is no real alternative to the UN on the horizon.

New from me @ForeignAffairs: "Shrink the UN". foreignaffairs.com/united-na…

It was great to talk all things @UN and #UNGA81 with @RichardGowan1 and @atwoodr on this week’s HYF @CrisisGroup crisisgroup.org/pod/global/u…

Why does UN General Assembly High-Level Week matter? Because in a single week, world leaders discuss everything from wars and climate change to sustainable development, public health and nuclear disarmament. Here's your guide to #UNGA ⤵️ news.un.org/en/story/2026/09…

Want to know what's on the table for next week's #UNGA81? Read this curtain raiser from @CrisisGroup's UN Team @RichardGowan1 @MarieaSekijima and me: justsecurity.org/157177/un-g…

Finally, revised list of speakers #UNGA81

"UN peacemaking needs more diplomats, not more doctrine": a reminder of the importance of leadership teams and empowering both UN envoys and the departments @UNDPPA @UNPeacekeeping by @DanielSafranHon @ipinstGO theglobalobservatory.org/202…

📩 The Month Ahead: Special Edition | Can the UN Be Saved? In three weeks’ time, world leaders will cram into half a square mile in Manhattan for speeches and side discussions at UNGA. As @EroComfort explains, the stakes could hardly be higher. linkedin.com/pulse/can-un-sa…

"Although less appealing than a highly structured peacemaking system, this complicated set of buffers & guardrails against the proliferation of force is worth pursuing. Even in a time of hard power, there will always be the need for peace"@EroComfort @RichardGowan1 @ForeignPolicy

NEW OP-ED | Make the U.N. Great Again: The Uphill Struggle Facing the Next Secretary General A new leader cannot heal all the world’s divisions, but with courage and political acumen, they can make disputes less toxic, writes @fortid & @RichardGowan1. time.com/article/2026/08/22/…

In a wide-ranging interview with the FT’s Alec Russell, the UN chief described a world being reshaped by the decline of US dominance, the rise of new powers and the humbling lessons from wars of choice. ft.trib.al/qJGuouP

The dogged, doughty and quite defensive UN Secretary General @antonioguterres speaks to me on the waning powers of America and Russia, the new multipolar order - and why it’s unfair to blame him for the UN’s low profile ft.com/content/5d54c148-861e… via @ft

🇱🇧 Former U.S. ambo to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltnam tells @TheBeiruter some of of @UNIFIL_ past reports were “dishonest” for ignoring Hezbollah facilities….only robust “monitoring and verification” of the trilateral agreement with Israel and U.S. can address the problem, not more conventional peacekeepers. Verification, he insists, must be two-sided: confirming both the removal of Hezbollah infrastructure and Israel’s withdrawal. He favors a mechanism with Security Council authority and public reporting to hold both sides publicly accountable. thebeiruter.com/article/leba… via @thebeiruter

"An expert on the UN, Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group, describes a distinction that insiders make in New York, between a secretary-general who knows how to navigate great-power politics, and one who takes P5 orders." @TheEconomist economist.com/international/…

"fact that US agreed to let China lead on Afghanistan-& ultimately engaged in transactional diplomacy to finalize new mandate-suggests Trump admin is willing to give China a degree of respect & political space in Security Council" writes @RichardGowan1 justsecurity.org/150260/chin…

In a new essay for @Horizons_CIRSD, I look at the seven roles every UN Secretary-General must play: 📈 Administrator 🪖 Mediator 💰 Developer 👼 Moralist 📢 Communicator 💫 Visionary 👶 Human cirsd.org/horizon-article/th…

"We are now at a geopolitical juncture in which many states and groups believe that they can brush off the Council’s injunctions, and indeed international law, with impunity. They are often right." Start your week with positive thoughts @CrisisGroup. crisisgroup.org/spc/global/b…

So after all the excitement over this week's UNSC elections, why does anyone actually want a seat on this accursed body? It's a good question, and I tried to answer @explainZA. explain.co.za/2026/06/05/the…

Dans cet article @jeune_afrique @ClaireRainfroy pose la question de l'influence et des opportunités que certains grands pays contributeurs retirent du maintien de la paix. J'y apporte quelques éléments de compréhension aux côtés @camille_byt @VerelstBram jeuneafrique.com/1794549/pol…