Nations in Harmony: The Roles and Functions of Music in United Nations Peacebuilding

Author: John Gledhill

Format: digital
Number of pages: 45
Language: english
ISBN: 978-84-09-78390-8
Year of edition: 2026

Abstract

In 2019, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, declared: “…music is a universal language. Music brings us together. Music is a symbol of peace.” (UN Secretary-General Press Release 2019).

Embracing these characteristics, various actors and organizations from the UN system have, over time, incorporated music into activities and interventions aimed at realizing the UN’s core objective of maintaining peace and security, globally. Those activities have been highly varied, running from concerts at the UN General Assembly, where world-famous musicians have performed in support of peace and human rights, to local-level initiatives in which UN actors have brought together communities divided by conflict with the aim of promoting societal reconciliation through collaborative music-making.

Despite the relative frequency with which UN actors have used music in support of peacebuilding, there has not been a systematic attempt to document, review, and categorize the roles and functions of music-for-peacebuilding activities realized within the UN system. This study addresses that lacuna by posing three questions; who (within the UN system) uses music in support of peacebuilding; what forms do music-for-peacebuilding activities take; and how do those activities aim to support the consolidation of positive peace?

To engage with these questions, the paper draws on a reading and analysis of hundreds of (largely public) documents and reports on music-for-peacebuilding initiatives that have been realized in recent decades, right across the UN system. After categorizing such initiatives, the study concludes by calling for impact assessments in order to gauge the degree to which such initiatives succeed in realizing their goal of contributing to peace.

John Gledhill

Associate Professor of Global Governance in the Department of International Development, University of Oxford. He holds a PhD in Government from Georgetown University, and BA in History and Political Science from Trinity College, Dublin. He has previously taught at the London School of Economics and Georgetown University, and he has held visiting positions at the University of Sydney and Institut Barcelona d’Estudis Internacionals (IBEI). His research explores various dynamics of conflict and peace(building), with a particular focus on UN peacekeeping, nonviolent resistance, and also the relationship between conflict, peace and the arts. His recent publications have appeared in journals such as the European Journal of International Relations, International Interactions, and the Journal of Global Security Studies.