The race to choose the next secretary-general of the United Nations is underway. In late April, candidates will appear before member states in New York for the now-familiar public dialogues introduced during the last selection process in 2016.

Those debates marked a historic improvement in transparency. For the first time, candidates were required to publish vision statements and answer questions from governments and civil society. The reform opened what had once been a closed diplomatic process. But nearly a decade later, one feature of the process has not changed: the formal member-state debates still take place entirely in New York. The only engagement the candidates are currently scheduled to convene in Geneva is an informal session with civil society in early June.

This year’s consultations will again be held at UN headquarters the week of April 20th. The current candidates include Rafael Grossi (Argentina), Rebeca Grynspan (Costa Rica), Michelle Bachelet (Chile), Macky Sall (Senegal), and Virginia Gamba (Argentina), with additional nominations expected as the race develops. These dialogues are important. But they also reflect the worldview of New York diplomacy, one centered heavily on geopolitics and the work of the UN Security Council.

In 2016, most questions to candidates focused on peacekeeping, conflict mediation, and relations with major powers. Those issues will always be central to the secretary-general’s role. Yet the world confronting the next UN leader looks very different from the one that shaped the last debate. Today’s global agenda is defined not only by war and peace but also by a much wider set of disruptions: accelerating climate change, widening inequality, humanitarian emergencies, the transformation of international trade, the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, and worrying backsliding on human rights. Read more