At 80 years the UN needs deep introspection

With UN leadership commemorating eight decades of multilateralism with a gathering on “the path ahead for a more inclusive and responsive multilateral system”, the institution finds itself mired in a profound crisis of credibility, funding and function.

The new Assembly president, Annalena Baerbock, has promised a new agenda that includes some renewal, but these aspirations clash against a punishing reality. The UN is financially crippled, politically fragmented, and struggling to uphold its founding mission in an age of resurgent nationalism. As it turns 80, the gap between its noble ideals and its tangible impact has never been starker, or more threatening.