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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 6d

The Security Council never needed resolution 2719 to be able to provide assessed contributions to non-UN forces, and the likelihood of 2719 application seems more remote than ever. It's time to look beyond 2719 in designing effective partnership arrangements.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/what-now-f...

What now for Security Council resolution 2719?

Full of sound and fury

casquebleu.substack.com

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Reposted by Eugene Chen

Devex @devex.com · 13d

At a Devex event during the United Nations General Assembly, senior development officials defend the U.N. reform push amid calls for a fundamental rethink of the multilateral institution’s role.

UN faces ‘austerity vs. reform’ dilemma as funding crisis deepens

www.devex.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 13d

In my latest piece, I examine the #UN80 revised estimates and explain how the initiative risks exacerbating the liquidity crisis, precipitating a loss of talent, and undermining the ability of the next Secretary-General to define a path forward for the #UN.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/nobody-wan...

UN80: Nobody wants this

Reflections on the 2026 revised estimates, part 2 of 2

casquebleu.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 15d

This is the one week of the year where I can say things like: Sorry I’m late to this meeting; I was stuck behind the Spanish and Swedish kings while waiting for the elevator.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 16d

Do we actually know if Waltz is a member of the Cabinet? The U.S. Representative to the UN is not automatically a Cabinet-rank position, and although Stefanik was nominated as a Cabinet-level official, I haven't yet seen anything to that effect for Waltz.

PBS News @pbsnews.org · 18d

The Senate on Friday confirmed Mike Waltz to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, filling the last vacancy in President Donald Trump’s Cabinet after eight months of delays and the withdrawal of a previous nominee. https://to.pbs.org/3KwJMOE

Senate confirms former national security adviser Mike Waltz as Trump's UN ambassador

Waltz served for mere weeks as Trump’s national security adviser before he was ousted in May after mistakenly adding a journalist to a private Signal chat used to discuss sensitive military plans.

to.pbs.org

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Reposted by Eugene Chen

Just Security @justsecurity.org · 20d

On UNGA's one-year deadline for Israel to comply with its legal obligations in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Erica Gaston writes that Member States have ample options for responding to the situation in Gaza, drawing from 80 years of practice:

www.justsecurity.org/120901/from-...

Weighing the Options on UNGA Action on Gaza

With no end in sight for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, could the General Assembly support humanitarian or peacekeeping intervention?

www.justsecurity.org

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 20d

The #UN80 revised estimates were released this week. In this week's post, I look at the cuts and changes proposed for the peace and security pillar (DPPA and DPO), assessing the likely motivations behind the changes proposed and why these fall short.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/restructur...

Restructuring the UN peace and security pillar redux

Too little, too late

casquebleu.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 24d

The five ambassadorial positions at USUN New York are:
1. U.S. Representative to the UN
2. Deputy U.S. Representative
3. Alternate U.S. Representative for Special Political Affairs
4. U.S. Representative to ECOSOC
5. U.S. Representative for UN Management and Reform

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · 25d

Some context: Tammy Bruce is Trump’s nominee to replace Amb. Dorothy Shea as deputy representative. This is a position traditionally held by a career foreign service officer.

If confirmed, all five ambassadorial positions at USUN will be filled by political appointees with no UN experience.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Sep 4

The U.S. wants a Gang Suppression Force in #Haiti with a UN support office. In this piece, I examine how the support office model went from being the option of last resort to the default option for UN peace and security engagement in complex settings.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/un-support...

UN support offices and the primacy of the military

How the option of last resort became the preferred model

casquebleu.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Aug 29

Where will next year's General Conference be held, and on what dates?

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Aug 28

The simplistic narratives underpinning the #UN80 mandate review do not help us understand and address the problems underpinning ineffective and inefficient delivery.

open.substack.com/pub/casquebl...

In defense of unread UN reports

Beware of simple narratives

open.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Aug 21

For an organization with so many plans and planners, the UN is surprisingly bad at planning. In my latest commentary, I argue that this is driven by several factors and has pernicious effects for relevance, effectiveness and adaptability of UN peace ops.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/dont-feed-...

Closing the planning gap in the Secretariat

Stop feeding the beast

casquebleu.substack.com

Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Aug 13

This is essentially an update to a piece I wrote last year on options for UN peacekeeping in Gaza, and why I think a UN trusteeship is not a realistic option. cic.nyu.edu/resources/ga...

Gaza: Assessing Options for the UN’s Role for the Day After | Center on International Cooperation

Various options have been floated for a United Nations role in Gaza after the fighting This blog post articulates the challenges associated with each of the proposals

cic.nyu.edu

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Aug 13

What are the prospects and potential for various day-after options for #Gaza, including #UN #peacekeeping? I gave ABC Radio National some of my thoughts earlier this week.

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Could the UN actually send forces into Gaza? - ABC listen

With Israel’s plan to go deeper into Gaza, the scenario looks intractable. Israel itself is increasingly isolated on the world stage. So what tools might be available to the United Nations to “force” ...

www.abc.net.au

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Aug 7

Ten years ago, the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations argued for using the full spectrum of peace operations, but today the divisions between #peacekeeping and political missions are further entrenched. Why does this matter and what can be done?

casquebleu.substack.com/p/towards-a-...

Towards a full spectrum of UN peace operations

Getting back on track

casquebleu.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jul 24

In the most recent edition of my weekly musings, I explore what the recent USUN confirmation hearings and the withdrawal from UNESCO tell us about the emerging contours of U.S. policy towards the UN.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/the-emergi...

The emerging contours of UN policy under Trump 2.0

Reading the tea leaves

casquebleu.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jul 17

Geopolitics are not the only reason why UN peace operations struggle today. My latest piece looks at what can be done to ensure that the peace ops review and #UN80 actually take a critical look at whether existing approaches and structures remain fit for purpose.

open.substack.com/pub/casquebl...

A title card reading "Lessons from HIPPO, ten years on" over a background image of a cartoon hippo wearing a UN peacekeeper helmet.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jul 11

In case you're hankering for more #UN content in your podcast queue, the latest episode of Future Tense includes commentary from @richardgowan1.bsky.social and me on #UN80 and the liquidity crisis.

www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

A turning point for the United Nations - ABC listen

Suffering internal division and stymied by geopolitical bullying, the United Nations is facing a future of diminishing influence. As the organisation marks its 80th birthday, it's also dealing with a ...

www.abc.net.au

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jul 10

My latest piece: On the irony of allowing a culpable Member State to weaponize a measure originally intended to avert a liquidity crisis to block action in the #FifthCommittee to mitigate one, plus the likely impact and rationale behind the #UN80 budget cuts.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/fiddling-w...

Fiddling while the UN runs out of cash

The need to avoid business as usual in the Fifth Committee

casquebleu.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jul 3

In case of interest, the official summary table breaking down the $5.4 billion amount across the various #peacekeeping missions, the support account, UNLB, and RSCE by expenditure type is available here: undocs.org/en/A/C.5/79/34

Document Viewer

undocs.org

Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jul 3

Last week, the General Assembly approved a level of nearly $5.4 billion for #peacekeeping operations for 2025/26. My latest piece has some thoughts about whether under-resourcing is what ails missions, and what this tells us about reform. #FifthCommittee #UN80

open.substack.com/pub/casquebl...

Budgets, bureaucracy, and the blame game in UN peacekeeping

Passing the buck

open.substack.com

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jun 26

I'm giving Substack a try. In my first post, I argue that the #UN80 mandate review is a distraction that is unlikely to yield actionable insights on how to address duplication and redundancy within the UN.

casquebleu.substack.com/p/thoughts-o...

Thoughts on the UN80 mandate review

TL;DR: it's a trap!

casquebleu.substack.com

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Reposted by Eugene Chen

Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · Jun 18

Another sign of how different a world we're living in right now compared to two decades ago, the US president is deciding whether to launch a major war of choice against a country that has not attacked the US, and there is not even a mention of going to the UNSC to get an authorizing resolution.

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Judah Grunstein @judah-grunstein.bsky.social · Jun 18

I could be proven wrong within days or even hours, but I think this is a decision Trump is constitutionally unable to make.

On one hand, he would demonstrate power, which he confuses with strength.

On the other, he would face potentially disastrous consequences of which he is terrified.

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Eugene Chen @casquebleu.org · Jun 6

An nescis, mi fili, quantilla prudentia mundus regatur?

The Guardian @theguardian.com · Jun 6

Trump says Musk ‘lost his mind’ after billionaire suggests he would like to make amends with president – live

Trump tells ABC he’s ‘not particularly’ interested in reconciling with Elon Musk, who appeared to say making peace would be in the best interest of the US * Musk signals he may back down in public feud with Trump Tesla shares rose on Friday as investors took some comfort from White House aides scheduling a call with CEO Elon Musk to broker peace after a public feud with President Donald Trump, reports Reuters. The electric carmaker’s shares were up about 5% in Frankfurt on Friday, having closed down 14.3% on Thursday in New York, losing about $150bn in market value. “It’s unlikely that Trump will end subsidies and contracts with Tesla. Those are obviously threats that are unlikely to come into fruition,” Fiona Cincotta, senior market analyst at City Index told Reuters. “I don’t expect this to blow out into anything more serious than a war of words for a couple of days.” Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com