By exploring music as a diplomatic tool, this book offers a sensitive look at international relations and an original perspective on the mission and evolution of the UN, which celebrated its 80^th anniversary in 2025.

Every October 24, the anniversary of the San Francisco Charter, the United Nations General Assembly is transformed into a concert hall open to the world. Geopolitics give way to music, implicitly presented as a universal language, a bond between peoples. But how can the universal be celebrated through music? How can it serve as a diplomatic tool? What do the choices of composers and works reveal? Through ten chapters centered on ten works that have been programmed since the 1950s, this book explores the links between music and politics.