The Fluctuating Fortunes of the United Nations International Civil Service: Hostage to Politics or Undeservedly Criticized?

What is the status of the international civil service? Under ideal circumstances, those working for the United Nations bureaucracy would be politically neutral, recruited on the basis of merit, and subject to uniform standards regarding conditions of employment. But, as Robert S. Jordan points out in this commentary, the reality is quite different. The international civil service, like its national counterparts, is subject to the political conditions of its environment.