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Waldheim’s critics as well as his perceptions. Waldheim’s peace-building/keeping actions in the
Cypress and Middle East conflicts, his efforts on behalf of Namibia’s quest for national
independence, and two non-conflict action-items of his tenure (the pursuit of the U.N. Human
Rights Statement on Religious Tolerance and his concerns over employment practices in the
Secretariat) provide the “data” for the study’s conclusions.
At the same time, what has been made public concerning Waldheim’s World War II
service record and his defense makes a different case with unique (and troubling) moral
dilemmas aggravated by his having once been the highest ranking global civil servant. The
paper seeks to understand differences between these moral ideals and realities.
Waldheim’s writings (among others) identified the above as signature issues of his
tenure. He inherited them from his predecessors, worked them during his time in office, and
passed them onto his successors. Thus, Cyprus, the Middle East, and Namibia make suitable
cases for understanding what additions and/or changes to policy and practice occurred during the
Waldheim years over against previous efforts. Any innovation can be more readily observed.
The study reviewed Security Council and General Assembly documents of Dr. Waldheim’s era,
interpretive secondary sources, reports concerning his military years of service, and popular
articles. Interviews were conducted with Waldheim and several of his senior deputies.
Explaining moral enigmas carries risks. One can become overly detailed obfuscating any
lessons to be learned, or miss vital qualities for the sake of a more available conclusion.
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Assessing Waldheim’s moral motives as a Secretary General readily falls into such difficulties.
The researcher may be too soft on the record by counting on external influences (such as 1.
problems inherent to the United Nations System, 2. the difficulties of the Cold War times, or 3.
the chaotic nature of systemic violence) to explain away the Waldheim puzzle; or too hard by
Convention