Speaker Events - Monday, February 12, 2007
Secretary or General? The UN Secretary-General in World Politics
Secretary or General? examines the UN Secretary-General as a unique figure in world politics who is, at once, civil servant, global diplomat, and commander-in-chief of up to a hundred thousand peacekeepers. He is also uniquely constrained in depending on states for both the legitimacy and resources that enable the UN to function. The tension between these roles has challenged every incumbent.
This book brings together the insights of senior UN staff, diplomats, and scholars to examine the normative and political factors that shape the role of the Secretary-General, with particular emphasis on how that role has evolved in response to changing strategic circumstances after the end of the Cold War and, especially, after 9/11 as well as, increasingly, by tensions between North and South. Navigating within this context, the challenges faced by each Secretary-General reflect the persistent ambivalence of states to entrusting their security, interests, or resources to an intergovernmental body.
Dr. Simon Chesterman, Director, NYU School of Law Singapore Programme was our distinguished speaker and Dr. Edward Luck, Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs and Director of the Center on International Organization of the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, served as a discussant.
The Global Observatory
A Gulf Union? Not Yet
A union between Persian Gulf countries the along the lines of the European Union may be a long way from being achieved.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.