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The Search for the Next Secretary-General
Insights from Security Council Report
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Security Council Report (SRC) is an independent organization that provides in-depth analysis of the UN Security Council’s work. As the 2026 Secretary-General race enters its decisive phase, SCR has built a growing body of research, analysis, and real-time commentary tracking the selection process, from procedural mechanics to the UN Security Council dynamics shaping the outcome. All SCR resources can be found here.
Key resources include:
Research Report: “Power, Process and Participation: The Search for the Next Secretary-General” (April 2026)
SCR’s flagship report on the 2026 race was recently published and serves as a go-to guide for diplomats and others on how the appointment and selection process of the Secretary-General has evolved in the past decade. It examines the formal and informal dimensions of the selection process, the roles of the Security Council and General Assembly, and the structural factors shaping candidate prospects. At the launch event for the report held in April 2026, experts highlighted the tension between evolutionary innovation and entrenched practices that continues to shape the process. Read the report.Podcast: Highlights from the Research Report and Key May Decisions (May 2026)
This episode of SCR’s podcast discusses highlights from SCR’s flagship research report on the selection of the Secretary-General and walks through the key decisions the Security Council was expected to make in May. Report co-authors Shamala Kandiah Thompson and Sara Bertotti highlight the changes made to the process since the 2015/16 selection and what we can expect in the months ahead. Listen here.In Hindsight: The Search for the Next Secretary-General (May 2026)
SCR’s latest retrospective piece reflects on how the selection process has unfolded and what recent developments reveal about Council dynamics. It tracks the state of the process following the General Assembly interactive dialogues with the four candidates at the time, and it flags several questions about transparency of the Council meetings as Council members began planning for straw polls, whether the General Assembly will be able to find ways to register their preferences for candidates, and how cohesive the E10 (the 10 elected members of the Council) would be in the months ahead as the process gets underway. Read more.Podcast: The Search for the Next UN Secretary-General Begins (December 2025)
This episode of SCR’s podcast reviews the main steps of the selection process and the negotiations behind the joint letter issued by the Presidents of the General Assembly and Security Council on Nov. 25, 2025, the formal starting gun for the 2026 race. Listen here.Research Report: “The UN Secretary-General Selection and Appointment Process: Emerging from the Shadows” (April 2017)
This is SCR’s foundational report on the 2016 selection, the first selection process to introduce public hearings and greater General Assembly involvement. To date, it serves as an essential reference for understanding how reform efforts have shaped the process and what precedents apply to the 2026 race. Read more.
