What is the legacy of Ralph Bunche for the United Nations?
Bunche’s contributions to ‘decolonization’ and ‘peace-keeping’, the two most critical sets of issues confronting the United Nations during the first two decades of the organization’s existence stand out as his lasting legacy. No single UN official, short of the Secretary-General was so intimately involved in the workings of the United Nations as a whole. Fundamentally, Bunche had a very realistic view of the United Nations and its role. He was committed to practical internationalism, that is the use of international agencies by political leaders to achieve compromises they could otherwise not attain, through a process of international legitimation by third parties. He personified the ‘moral authority’ of the international civil servant, projecting the positive image of independence, sensitivity, balanced judgement, expertise and competence as he embodied the ideals and principles of the UN Charter. In a sense, Bunche was the embodiment of an effective United Nations. Above all, Bunche
