Is the United Nations still relevant?

Is the UN still relevant? I'll weigh the case for and against with the latest evidence and debates.

Is the United Nations still relevant? The answer depends on how you define relevance — as a forum, as a service provider, or as a enforcer of peace and security. Most analysts say: Yes, but it is increasingly constrained.

1. The case that it is still relevant

A. It remains the only universal forum
As the United Nations marks its 80th anniversary, the question of relevance looms large. Yet its more than 190 member states, with only a few exceptions, are sending representatives to New York for the 80th session of the General Assembly. The vast majority are sending heads of state, presidents, or prime ministers.

In her closing remarks to the 2025 General Debate, President of the General Assembly Annalena Baerbock said that if high-level week is any indication, the United Nations is still relevant.

Global public opinion still supports it. Most publics in the 25-nation 2025 Pew Global Attitudes Survey hold net-positive views of the United Nations, and several nations—such as South Africa, Nigeria, and Germany—have seen favorable views rise over the past year. That perception makes the United Nations a still-useful venue for international contestation—and a tool for nations seeking international power and prestige.

The work of the United Nations is often described as “a tale of two institutions”—one a gridlocked political body, and the other a network of agencies doing “real, important work in the field”.

B. Humanitarian, health and development work

The UN is often judged by the conflicts it has failed to stop. But its recent record also includes achievements that attract less attention:

The UN enters 2026 at a moment when global disorder and institutional constraints converge, but it remains indispensable, and the expectations placed on it have expanded.

2. The case that its relevance is declining

A. Security Council paralysis

The central criticism is the Security Council. Other critics and even proponents question its effectiveness and relevance because in most high-profile cases, there are essentially no consequences for violating a Security Council resolution.

One of the primary criticisms revolves around the structure and functioning of the Security Council. The veto power held by the five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) can lead to deadlock.

A Chicago Council analysis notes:

> The most fundamental challenge to the relevance of the United Nations is intimately linked to perceptions of its legitimacy. For many, this has been irretrievably compromised.

Of the five permanent members, one—Russia—has blatantly violated the sovereignty of Ukraine. A second—China—has refused to condemn this violation. A third—the United States—is seen to have provided seemingly unconditional support for Israel's actions in Gaza. Great-power hypocrisy is not new, but for many at the United Nations it has reached new heights and eroded the institution's relevance in its most central role, which is to ascribe or deny legitimacy to the use of force.

B. Financial and political constraints

When measured by its ability to deliver impactful, material solutions to the most critical global problems, the United Nations' relevance looks far worse. It has been radically diminished by the United States' decision to delay critical budgetary support and put caps on its contributions to UN peacekeeping.

Its ability to tackle climate change, global health risks, humanitarian disasters, technological change, and longer-term development goals is shrinking, and it is shrinking rapidly. In early 2026, Secretary-General António Guterres warned of a "race to bankruptcy" with proposed cuts to the regular budget.

Yet its authority and effectiveness are increasingly contested, while political support and resources have narrowed.

This is why the UN launched the UN80 Initiative, a reform effort to modernize how the organization operates, reflecting a pragmatic attempt to restore the ability to govern the UN system despite persistent political fragmentation and fiscal constraints.

3. Bottom line

Many scholars therefore argue the UN is not becoming irrelevant, but differently relevant: less as a world police and more as a service provider, norm-setter, and arena where smaller states and rising powers — notably China, which has steadily grown its influence within the UN system — contest legitimacy.

Whether it stays relevant will depend on reform: Security Council reform, sustainable funding, and whether member states — especially the P5 — want a strong UN or a weak one.