ABSTRACT
The attempt to posthumously reconstruct the political ethics of a person is loaded with diffi culties. As a rule, one has to fall back on probabilities and plausibility. Dag Hammarskjöld, however, was sometimes very articulate about the sources of his thoughts and actions. In this respect, the central document is his 1953 interview for the radio programme ‘This I believe’, in which he explicitly elaborated on the foundations of his ethical thinking. The key words and contexts provide guidelines for our analysis. The text is not exhaustive, and one must take into account that he wrote it soon after assuming offi ce. Accordingly, our investigation goes beyond the infl uences named in the interview to include other as well as later factors. Nevertheless, the document is a solid basis for the following analysis. Hammarskjöld took great care in producing the text; some of his colleagues at the UN were presented with several drafts for comment. Because of the unique signifi cance of this interview, the text is reproduced here in its entirety:
The world in which I grew up was dominated by principles and ideals of a time far from ours and, as it may seem, far removed from the problems facing a man of the middle of the twentieth century. However, my way has not meant a departure from those ideals. On the contrary, I have been led to an understanding of their validity also for our world today. Thus, a never abandoned effort frankly and squarely to build up a personal belief in the light of experience and honest thinking has led me in a circle; I now recognize and endorse, unreservedly, those very beliefs which were once handed down to me.
