We warmly invite you to take part in our next Open Consultation Monday discussion event:
📅 8 June 2026 | 🕒 2:00 PM Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
💬 Topic: China’s Global Governance Initiative
🔗 Registration: CLICK HERE
The United Nations will soon elect a new Secretary-General (SG). This election takes place during a time of great tension and geopolitical fragmentation. Contestation over the effect and legitimacy of multilateral institutions, coupled with increased great power rivalry, ensures this election will be particularly consequential.
Will the next SG be able to reform the UN? Will they be able to maintain order during a time when emerging governance initiatives such as China’s Global Governance Initiative and BRICS move into the traditional space of the UN? And can the UN reclaim its role in multilateralism and global leadership in a changing international order?
Against this backdrop, the selection of the next Secretary-General will both indicate an institutional transition and also a broader reflection of competing visions for global governance, reform, and legitimacy.
The discussion will explore:
- The UN Secretary-General in a fragmented global order
- Competing expectations: What is required from the next Secretary General
- The SG and their political constraints, including the Security Council
- Diverging demands from the Global North and Global South
- UN multilateralism and emerging governance initiatives
- Is it realistic to expect major change within the UN system simply through the appointment of a new Secretary-General?
- To what extent are the limitations of the office rooted not in personality or leadership style, but in the broader geopolitical constraints imposed by member states and the Security Council?
We look forward to your insights and contributions to this timely conversation.
Warm regards,
The GSPN Team
Global South Perspectives Network 
Leave a comment