The UN’s High Level Week, Secretary-General Selection and “Middle Power” Problem

The UN’s High Level Week, Secretary-General Selection and “Middle Power” Problem | International Crisis Group

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!Hold Your Fire

**Podcast** / Global 18 September 2026 **1 minute**

The UN’s High Level Week, Secretary-General Selection and “Middle Power” Problem

*This week on Hold Your Fire!, Richard Atwood is joined by Crisis Group experts Richard Gowan and Daniel Forti to discuss next week’s UN General Assembly high-level week and whether a new Secretary-General can revive the organisation’s peacemaking as global turmoil spreads.*

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* Multilateral Diplomacy

In this episode of *Hold Your Fire!*, Richard Atwood speaks with Richard Gowan, Crisis Group’s Director for Global Issues and Institutions, and Daniel Forti, Head of UN affairs, ahead of next week’s UN General Assembly high-level week. They explore the mood at the UN, its shifting relations with Washington and its shrinking role in peacemaking worldwide, particularly in the Middle East. They assess current Secretary-General António Guterres’s legacy, the contenders to succeed him and whether new leadership can reinvigorate the organisation’s peacemaking while defending the UN Charter’s principles and rebuilding relationships with powerful states.