What I learned listening to 100+ World Leaders’ speeches at the United Nations General Assembly
This article reflects solely my views and in no way that of the United Nations, my supervisors or my colleagues.
The United Nations General Assembly high-level week is a very unique moment in world politics. For a few days, heads of state and/or government, ministers and ambassadors unite in New York to engage in bilateral meetings, side-events, hallway confrontations, and address the General Assembly. Some of these addresses have become infamous, among them are Qaddafi’s 90-minute address in which he tore the United Nations Charter or Khrushchev’s ‘shoe-banging incident’.
While some of the 196 speeches have become prominent episodes in world affairs, awaited and analysed by international experts, most of them have limited reach outside of national media. A New York Times article quotes author Stephen Schlesinger stating “I don’t think anybody has ever done a real study of General Assembly speeches because nobody listens to them”.
Well, I had to listen to more than a hundred of them. Here’s what I learned:
A world of Patriots and Globalists
Guess what, the world is neither homogeneous nor peaceful.
