Peace and International Politics Research Group: Flavia Keller – “Materiality in Diplomatic Practice: The Elected Members of the UN Security Council”

Title: Materiality in Diplomatic Practice: The Elected Members of the UN Security Council

Short description: 

Global political polarisation has put the elected members of the UN Security Council in a critical position. On the one hand, they face considerable obstacles alongside the institutional constraints inherent to their status in the Council. On the other hand, their potential to act as bridge-builders between the (permanent) members of the Council is amplified. Drawing on international practice theory and ethnographic fieldwork, I examine Switzerland’s first term on the Council (2023-2024) to understand how elected members sustain the Council’s functioning and relevance through their engagement with documents, drafting technologies, meeting rooms, and other material artefacts that structure diplomatic interaction.

Short bio:

Flavia Keller is a PhD Candidate in Political Science at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland. Using ethnographic methods, she explores the everyday diplomatic practices of elected members and the ways in which they mobilise materiality in performing them. From April to June 2026, Flavia is a visiting PhD researcher at Lund University.

Peace and International Politics Research Group | Department of Political Science