Antonio Guterres’ appointment unlikely to stir UN’s stagnant waters (South Asia Monitor)

As has traditionally been the case, the announcement of a new United Nations secretary-general gives grounds to speculate as to what could have been. The UN, for all its many faults, still symbolically represents the Kantian ideal — a single worldwide entity dedicated to the peaceful and negotiated solution of disputes between nations and larger global concerns. The new secretary-general, former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Guterres is a more political animal than Ban Ki-moon, the former South Korean diplomat he replaces. But otherwise he is cut from the same cloth that most UN heads are. He comes from a small country, has a record of not saying or doing anything remotely controversial and, finally, there is a consensus among the major states that he will not stir the UN’s stagnant waters.

http://southasiamonitor.org/news/antonio-guterres-appointment-unlikely-to-stir-un-s-stagnant-waters/n/19732

António Guterres: Good for the U.N., good for the world, but gender issues remain (Elizabeth Ferris, Brookings)

Between the horrifying news coming out of Aleppo and the daily litany of absurd reports from the Donald Trump campaign, it was a jolt of good news to learn this morning that the U.N. Security Council has unanimously agreed to nominate António Guterres as the next secretary-general of the United Nations. While the formal decision will be made by the General Assembly, Guterres’ election to the position seems all but certain.

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2016/10/06/antonio-guterres-good-for-the-u-n-good-for-the-world-but-gender-issues-remain/