A Secretary-General’s Vision for the UN in a Changing Global Order
What the Work Is
Today’s world and the United Nations is a work by Dag Hammarskjöld first published in 1958. The text addresses the role and challenges of the United Nations during a period of significant global transformation.
What the Book Is About
The work examines the relationship between contemporary international developments and the United Nations as an institution. Writing during his tenure as the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, Hammarskjöld explores how the UN must respond to and engage with the evolving political landscape of the late 1950s. The book reflects on the organization’s purpose and function at a moment when decolonization, Cold War tensions, and the emergence of newly independent nations were reshaping the international system. Hammarskjöld addresses the UN’s capacity to serve as a meaningful force in this transformed world, considering both its internal operations and its external diplomatic role.
Significance and Influence
Published in 1958, the work appeared during a critical phase of Hammarskjöld’s leadership, several years into his efforts to strengthen the United Nations both as an organization and as a presence in international affairs. The book represents his thinking on the UN’s mission during a period when he was actively working to improve the institution’s morale and organizational efficiency while simultaneously seeking to expand its influence in global diplomacy. The text offers insight into the perspective of a Secretary-General navigating the complexities of the Cold War era and the challenges posed by the rapid transformation of the international order through decolonization and the proliferation of new member states.
