The Security Council in Its Entirety: Unveiling 80 Years of Deliberation through the UNSC Meetings and Speeches Dataset

This article presents a new dataset that compiles every available public transcript of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) from 1946 to 2024 in a machine-readable format. Encompassing over one hundred thousand speeches and more than eighty-seven million words, it offers unprecedented historical depth, capturing both Cold War–era debates and post–1990 expansions in Council activities. The dataset enables analyses of meeting frequencies, resolution adoption rates, evolving rhetorical emphases (e.g., on “sovereignty” versus “human rights”), thematic patterns revealed by topic modeling, and shifts in sentiment across different periods. By spanning nearly eight decades of deliberations, this resource supports diverse research agendas on global security norms, the roles of major powers and smaller states, and the expanding influence of UN officials in shaping Council discourse.