The United Nations At 75: It Has Never Been More Needed Nor Under Greater Threat
"As the United Nations celebrates its 75th anniversary this week, its limitations have never been more apparent. Neither has its necessity."
The UN was born from the wreckage of World War II; an institution built to foster dialogue and diplomacy, and to provide an arena other than the battlefield for countries to hash out disagreements. While this largely worked, the institution's architecture is still the same as in 1945, which is why UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres acknowledges that this architecture needs to be renewed, beginning with the Security Council.
The UN was also build to provide the means for cooperation between states to solve collective action problems. 2020 has crystalized the need for immediate collective action; however, more and more states are beginning to take a zero-sum approach to the world and emphasize "my nation first" politics which complicates the coordination that is so necessary.
As a whole, world leaders need to acknowledge that our ever-changing world brings problems that cannot be addressed if they go alone; those problems need to be addressed by the United Nations. For its part, the UN needs to show that it is addressing its own shortcoming, and that it is evolving along with the rapidly-changing world. Reforming the institution from within will help to solve collective action problems as well as geopolitical tensions; for, at least, another 75 years.
Jan Mueller
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