Is the United Nations still relevant?

Whether the United Nations (UN) is still relevant is one of the most critical and fiercely debated questions in modern geopolitics. This debate has intensified as the UN navigates a pivotal transitional phase—including the search for a successor to Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second term concludes at the end of 2026—while struggling to address cascading global crises.

To evaluate its relevance, it is necessary to look at the arguments on both sides: the case that the UN is failing and losing its purpose, and the case that it remains an irreplaceable pillars of global stability.

The Case Against Relevance: A Crisis of Purpose and Power

Critics argue that the UN is increasingly paralyzed, bypassed by major powers, and structurally unsuited for the 21st-century geopolitical landscape.

•Security Council Paralysis: The UN Security Council (UNSC) is meant to be the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. However, the veto power held by its five permanent members (the P5: US, China, Russia, France, and the UK) has deadlocked the council. It has been largely unable to halt devastating conflicts, from the war in Ukraine to catastrophic violence in Gaza, Sudan, and broader Middle Eastern escalations.

•Geopolitical Bypassing: When the UN fails to act, major powers increasingly bypass it. This is evident in the rise of "minilateralism" (alliances like AUKUS, the Quad, or BRICS) and unilateral initiatives. For instance, during recent Middle Eastern escalations, alternative platforms and transactional diplomacy were pursued outside of formal UN channels, reflecting a growing sentiment that the UNSC is no longer the primary venue for serious conflict resolution.

•Financial and Peacekeeping Crises: The UN is grappling with a severe, multi-year liquidity crisis, worsened by budget cuts and delayed dues from major donors, particularly the United States. Consequently, the UN has had to scale back operations. Furthermore, its flagship peacekeeping forces have faced shrinking budgets, local hostility, and strategic retreats (such as reductions in deployments in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan).

•An Inward-Looking Bureaucracy: Critics argue that the UN has become overly focused on its own institutional survival. Initiatives like "UN80" (designed to streamline and reform the UN system) are criticized by some diplomats as endless exercises in internal bureaucracy that do little to stop wars or save civilian lives on the ground.

The Case For Relevance: An Indispensable Safety Net

Conversely, defenders of the UN argue that the organization's relevance should not be judged solely by its inability to stop wars between great powers. Instead, its relevance lies in what it successfully prevents and the essential services it provides.

•The Ultimate Humanitarian Safety Net: While political bodies may be deadlocked, the UN’s specialized agencies—such as the World Food Programme (WFP), UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR)—are the world’s first and often only line of defense in humanitarian disasters. No other entity has the logistical network, international mandate, or operational scale to feed, vaccinate, and house millions of people in active war zones and disaster areas.

•Preventing "World War III" (Deconfliction): The UN was not designed to eliminate all conflict, but to prevent direct war between nuclear-armed superpowers. Even during times of intense division, the UN remains the only universal forum where hostile powers (such as the US, Russia, and China) must sit at the same table and engage. It acts as a vital diplomatic safety valve, allowing for back-channel communications that prevent local crises from spiraling into global catastrophes.

•Giving Voice to the Global South: For smaller and developing nations, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) is their most powerful platform. It is where they can coordinate on global issues like climate change, sea-level rise, and debt relief. Without the UN, international relations would revert entirely to "might makes right," leaving smaller nations with virtually no say in global governance.

•Setting Global Standards: The UN is the chief instrument for drafting international law and establishing global norms. Agreements like the Pact for the Future provide frameworks for regulating emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence, tackling climate change, and preparing for future pandemics.

The Verdict: Mirror, Not Master

The debate over the UN's relevance often stems from a misunderstanding of what the UN actually is. The UN is not a sovereign world government; it is an intergovernmental forum. It is a mirror of the world as it is, reflecting both the cooperation and the bitter rivalries of its member states.

If the UN is dysfunctional, it is because global geopolitics are dysfunctional. As former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld famously noted, "The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell."

In a highly fractured, multipolar world, the UN is under immense strain and in desperate need of reform—particularly regarding the composition of the Security Council. However, it remains entirely relevant, not because it is perfect, but because a world without it would be far more unstable, dangerous, and lawless.

Citations (8)

1weforum.orgNonprofits and think tanks
weforum.org
Backs: “This debate has intensified as the UN navigates a pivotal transitional phase—including the search for a successor to Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second term concludes at the end of 2026—while struggling to address cascading global crises.”
2unu.eduAcademic
unu.edu
Backs: “This debate has intensified as the UN navigates a pivotal transitional phase—including the search for a successor to Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second term concludes at the end of 2026—while struggling to address cascading global crises.”
3un.orgGovernment
un.org
Backs: “This debate has intensified as the UN navigates a pivotal transitional phase—including the search for a successor to Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second term concludes at the end of 2026—while struggling to address cascading global crises. To evaluate its relevance, it is necessary to look at the…”
4youtube.comSocial media and video
youtube.com
Backs: “Security Council Paralysis: The UN Security Council (UNSC) is meant to be the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. However, the veto power held by its five permanent members (the P5: US, China, Russia, France, and the UK) has deadlocked the council.”
5fdd.orgNot yet classified
fdd.org
Backs: “Security Council Paralysis: The UN Security Council (UNSC) is meant to be the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security. However, the veto power held by its five permanent members (the P5: US, China, Russia, France, and the UK) has deadlocked the council.”
6theguardian.comNews and mediaquality 0.75
theguardian.com
Backs: “However, the veto power held by its five permanent members (the P5: US, China, Russia, France, and the UK) has deadlocked the council. It has been largely unable to halt devastating conflicts, from the war in Ukraine to catastrophic violence in Gaza, Sudan, and broader Middle Eastern escalations.”
7crisisgroup.orgNonprofits and think tanks
crisisgroup.org
Backs: “It has been largely unable to halt devastating conflicts, from the war in Ukraine to catastrophic violence in Gaza, Sudan, and broader Middle Eastern escalations. Geopolitical Bypassing: When the UN fails to act, major powers increasingly bypass it.”
8un.orgGovernment
un.org
Backs: “Furthermore, its flagship peacekeeping forces have faced shrinking budgets, local hostility, and strategic retreats (such as reductions in deployments in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan). An Inward-Looking Bureaucracy: Critics argue that the UN has become overly focused on its own institutional…”