Is the United Nations still relevant?

The relevance of the United Nations is one of the most hotly debated questions in modern global politics. As the UN enters its ninth decade, the institution is facing a profound crisis of credibility.

To evaluate whether the UN is still relevant, it is helpful to divide its work into two distinct realms: high-level geopolitical peacemaking (where it is widely seen as struggling or failing) and on-the-ground humanitarian and normative work (where it remains indispensable).

The Case Against Relevance: Geopolitical Paralysis and Inefficiency

Critics argue that the UN is increasingly toothless, outdated, and unable to address the most pressing threats to global security.

•Security Council Paralysis: The UN’s primary body for maintaining peace—the Security Council—is frequently paralyzed by the veto power of its five permanent members (P5: the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK). This structural flaw has left the UN unable to stop major conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine or the escalating crises in the Middle East. When the interests of the superpowers clash, the UN is sidelined.

•Lack of Enforcement Power: The UN relies entirely on the political will of its member states to enforce its resolutions. Powerful nations routinely ignore General Assembly resolutions or International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings with impunity, leading critics (including leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump) to dismiss the UN as irrelevant to international peace and security.

•Severe Financial and Structural Crises: The UN is grappling with deep financial strain. Official global development assistance plummeted by over 23% in 2025, and budgets have continued to shrink. Under pressure, the UN launched the "UN80" initiative to streamline operations and cut costs, but internal resistance has made structural reform difficult.

•Stagnant Global Goals: The UN’s flagship Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—meant to eradicate poverty and combat climate change by 2030—are severely off track. Assessments reveal that nearly half of the SDG targets are making only marginal progress, and 15% have actually regressed.

The Case For Relevance: An Indispensable Global Safety Net

Supporters argue that while the UN is highly flawed, the world would be far more dangerous, chaotic, and impoverished without it.

•Life-Saving Field and Humanitarian Operations: While diplomatic speeches in New York often yield few results, the UN's agencies do irreplaceable work on the front lines. The World Food Programme (WFP), UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), UNICEF, and the World Health Organization (WHO) feed, shelter, vaccinate, and educate millions of the world’s most vulnerable people daily. For a refugee in Bangladesh or a displaced family in South Sudan, the UN is a literal lifeline.

•The Only Universal Forum: The UN is the only place on Earth where all 193 sovereign nations can sit at the same table as nominal equals. It provides a vital safety valve for adversaries to communicate. Even as the US and China compete for global dominance, both actively use the UN to build coalitions, project soft power, and negotiate.

•Setting "Rules of the Road": The UN remains the primary vehicle for establishing international law, aviation standards, maritime boundaries, and postal agreements. It is also the only framework capable of hosting massive global treaties, such as the Paris Climate Agreement, and coordinating emerging global challenges like artificial intelligence governance.

•Peacekeeping and Stability: Despite failures, the UN still deploys tens of thousands of peacekeepers to volatile regions worldwide. These forces help prevent local conflicts from spiraling into regional wars, acting as a buffer in highly unstable environments.

The Verdict: "Drifting" but Irreplaceable

Ultimately, the United Nations is not dead, but it is "drifting." It has failed in its original 1945 mandate to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war" because the post-WWII geopolitical order no longer matches today's multipolar reality. There are growing demands, particularly from the Global South, to reform the Security Council to include permanent African and Latin American representation to reflect the modern world.

The UN remains relevant not because it is perfect, but because there is no alternative. If the UN were to collapse tomorrow, the international community would immediately have to invent a highly similar organization to coordinate global health, climate action, refugee aid, and international law.

The institution's future relevance will largely depend on its ongoing "UN80" reforms and how the next UN Secretary-General navigates a deeply fractured geopolitical landscape.

Citations (8)

1weforum.orgNonprofits and think tanks
weforum.org
Backs: “As the UN enters its ninth decade, the institution is facing a profound crisis of credibility.”
2swissinfo.chNot yet classified
swissinfo.ch
Backs: “Security Council Paralysis: The UN’s primary body for maintaining peace—the Security Council—is frequently paralyzed by the veto power of its five permanent members (P5: the US, Russia, China, France, and the UK). This structural flaw has left the UN unable to stop major conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine or the…”
3globalaffairs.orgNonprofits and think tanks
globalaffairs.org
Backs: “Lack of Enforcement Power: The UN relies entirely on the political will of its member states to enforce its resolutions. Powerful nations routinely ignore General Assembly resolutions or International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings with impunity, leading critics (including leaders like U.S.”
4sdg-action.orgNot yet classified
sdg-action.org
Backs: “Powerful nations routinely ignore General Assembly resolutions or International Court of Justice (ICJ) rulings with impunity, leading critics (including leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump) to dismiss the UN as irrelevant to international peace and security. Severe Financial and Structural Crises: The UN is…”
5ox.ac.ukAcademic
ox.ac.uk
Backs: “Supporters argue that while the UN is highly flawed, the world would be far more dangerous, chaotic, and impoverished without it. Life-Saving Field and Humanitarian Operations: While diplomatic speeches in New York often yield few results, the UN's agencies do irreplaceable work on the front lines.”
6un.orgGovernment
un.org
Backs: “The Only Universal Forum: The UN is the only place on Earth where all 193 sovereign nations can sit at the same table as nominal equals. It provides a vital safety valve for adversaries to communicate.”
7facebook.comSocial media and video
facebook.com
Backs: “The Only Universal Forum: The UN is the only place on Earth where all 193 sovereign nations can sit at the same table as nominal equals. It provides a vital safety valve for adversaries to communicate.”
8brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
brookings.edu
Backs: “There are growing demands, particularly from the Global South, to reform the Security Council to include permanent African and Latin American representation to reflect the modern world. The UN remains relevant not because it is perfect, but because there is no alternative. If the UN were to collapse tomorrow, the…”