The United Nations Secretary-General, peace and security, and the global political environment

This thesis presents the evolution of the UN Secretaryship-General’s peace and security roles in the context of developments and trends in international politics since the early 1970s. Part 1 outlines the historical, political and institutional background to the international civil service since 1919. It traces the accumulation of the Secretaryship- General’s roles in conflict prevention, management and settlement, and also outlines the tensions and shortcomings of the classical conception of the international civil service. Part 2 hones down the research by presenting the methodology and identifying the specific activities of the Secretaryship-General which will be examined in greater detail for the remainder of the research. Subsequent chapters examine the incumbencies of Kurt Waldheim, Javier Pérez de Cuéllar and Boutros Boutros-Ghali in the context of the evolving political environment. Particular attention is given to post-Cold War developments in peace and security and the multifaceted - and sometimes paradoxical - implications these have had for the Secretaryship-General. The Office is a focal point of multilateral turbulence as the UN struggles to adapt to evolving circumstances. It has reflected the friction which accompanies such change but it has also been elevated by the burgeoning level of the UN’s activities and developments in political-military thinking in the Secretariat and Security Council. The Secretaryship-General is put into the context of a wider conception of peace and security which increasingly blurs the distinction between the international and domestic realms and embraces a far wider agenda than that traditionally accepted. The conclusion questions the extent to which the Secretaryship-General has evolved beyond the traditional conception of the international civil service within this environment.