Is the United Nations still relevant?
The United Nations' relevance is a matter of ongoing debate, with strong arguments on both sides rather than a clear-cut answer. Let me look at current perspectives on this.## The UN's relevance: a genuinely contested question
There's no simple yes/no answer—the UN is in the middle of what many observers describe as a serious crisis of legitimacy, even as it remains functionally important in specific areas. Here's the balance of evidence:
The case that it's struggling
Security Council paralysis is the central problem. In 2025, permanent members cast vetoes blocking action on Gaza and Ukraine, reflecting an order that no longer exists, with the Council's permanent members representing a minority of the world's people. Beyond these headline conflicts, several unexpected crises demanded Council attention in 2025, including a coup in Guinea-Bissau, a border conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, and fighting over Kashmir, yet the Council took no substantive action—no resolutions, peacekeeping deployments or enforcement measures.
The structure reflects 1945, not 2026. The UN was designed in 1945 by 51 countries, with the five victors—the US, UK, France, Soviet Union, and China—writing the rules and giving themselves permanent Security Council seats with veto power. Since then, the UN now counts 193 member states, nearly four times the original number, while the global population has more than tripled, from 2.5 billion to over 8 billion. Notably, roughly 70 percent of the Security Council's agenda now concerns Africa, and Africa does not hold a single permanent seat on that Council.
Reform efforts face structural resistance. As one analysis bluntly put it, reform is difficult because the countries whose power would be reduced by reform must vote to approve that reduction—it's asking turkeys to vote for Thanksgiving. Historically, major reform efforts in the 1990s, 2005, and 2015 all collapsed. Meanwhile, nations are increasingly bypassing the UN—the G20 handles major economic coordination, while regional organizations like the African Union, ASEAN, and the EU manage their own affairs.
Financial strain is compounding the crisis. The US owes roughly $1.5 billion in unpaid assessments, with arrears climbing above $2 billion, while Secretary-General Guterres has warned of a "race to bankruptcy," proposing cuts to the UN's budget and elimination of thousands of posts. The US has taken a particularly hard line: "We cut the UN budget for the first time ever, slashing it by 15 percent in 2026 and eliminating more than 4,000 positions from the UN bureaucracy." Critics worry this creates a downward spiral—one reform advocate warned the result could be a UN that becomes "20% smaller and still trying to do the same thing," leading to an organization that is "less effective, and therefore continues to lose relevance."
Even symbolic moments underscore the dysfunction. At the 2026 General Assembly, former US Ambassador Susan Rice noted that when President Trump stood before the General Assembly and called for the annihilation of another country, it underscored just how far the world has strayed from the founding vision of the UN.
The case that it still matters
Humanitarian operations remain indispensable. Even the UN's harshest critics concede this point. Rice herself argued: "I would say it is barely still relevant, most importantly because its operational humanitarian agencies are delivering lifesaving assistance to millions and millions around the world."
No alternative exists for coordinating global responses. One analysis posed a thought experiment—imagining the UN dissolving tomorrow—and concluded the immediate result would be humanitarian collapse within days, not years.
Legal and normative influence persists. The UN system has produced significant recent legal developments, including a landmark July 2025 advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice affirming that states have a legal duty to protect the climate system from greenhouse gas emissions.
Reform is at least being attempted. The most recent surge of interest occurred during the 2025 High-Level Week, where over 100 national statements mentioned Security Council reform, illustrating growing pressure to restructure the UN's only body endowed with legally binding authority. Secretary-General Guterres has framed the stakes clearly: "The United Nations exists because power requires rules – and humanity needs a place where power answers to principle."
Leadership itself frames this as existential. At the October 2026 General Assembly debate, the outgoing General Assembly President captured the mood precisely: "Outside these walls, people are not asking whether the United Nations still exists. They are asking whether it works."
Bottom line
The UN isn't irrelevant, but it is in a period of real strain between its founding ideals and the realities of a multipolar, fragmented world. It remains essential for humanitarian coordination, international law, and as a forum where even adversarial powers must show up and talk. But its core political function—preventing and resolving major conflicts—looks increasingly compromised by a veto-bound Security Council designed for a 1945 world order, deepening budget cuts, and the rise of alternative forums (G20, regional blocs) that bypass it entirely. Whether it regains fuller relevance likely depends on whether genuine structural reform—especially of the Security Council—can overcome the self-interest of the very powers that would need to approve it.
Citations (18)
- UN Security Council: reform or irrelevance - CIVICUS LENS
Source excerpt: “In 2025, permanent members cast vetoes blocking action on Gaza and Ukraine. Reflecting an order that no longer exists, the Council’s permanent members...”
evidence, article, points to no. Claim: In 2025, permanent members cast vetoes blocking action on Gaza and Ukraine, reflecting an order that no longer exists.-Security Council paralysis.}
- UN Security Council: reform or irrelevance - CIVICUS LENS
Source excerpt: “Beyond these major conflicts, several unexpected crises demanded Council attention in 2025, including a coup in Guinea-Bissau, a border conflict betwe...”
evidence, article, points to no. Claim: Several unexpected 2025 crises (Guinea-Bissau coup, Cambodia-Thailand, Kashmir) drew no substantive Council action.
- Is the United Nations still relevant? Does the world still need it? | Assodesire
Source excerpt: “The United Nations was designed in 1945 by 51 countries emerging from the most destructive war in history. The five victors, the United States, the Un...”
evidence, article, points to no. Claim: The UN was designed in 1945 by 51 countries, with five victors holding permanent seats and veto power.
- Is the United Nations still relevant? Does the world still need it? | Assodesire
Source excerpt: “The UN now counts 193 member states, nearly four times the original number. The global population has more than tripled, from 2.5 billion to over 8 bi...”
statistic, article, points to no. Claim: UN now has 193 member states, nearly four times the original, while global population grew from 2.5 billion to over 8 billion.
- Is the United Nations still relevant? Does the world still need it? | Assodesire
Source excerpt: “Yet roughly 70 percent of the Security Council’s agenda now concerns Africa, and Africa does not hold a single permanent seat on that Council.”
statistic, article, points to no. Claim: About 70 percent of the Security Council's agenda concerns Africa, which has no permanent seat.
- Inside the UN's Secret Plan to Reform Itself
Source excerpt: “The fundamental problem is structural: the countries whose power would be reduced by reform must vote to approve that reduction. It's asking turkeys t...”
attribution, article, points to no. Claim: Reform is hard because countries losing power must vote for it, like turkeys voting for Thanksgiving.
- Inside the UN's Secret Plan to Reform Itself
Source excerpt: “History suggests skepticism. Major reform efforts in the 1990s, 2005, and 2015 all collapsed. ”
evidence, article, points to no. Claim: Major reform efforts in the 1990s, 2005, and 2015 all collapsed.
- Inside the UN's Secret Plan to Reform Itself
Source excerpt: “Increasingly, nations are simply bypassing the UN. The G20 handles major economic coordination. Regional organizations like the African Union, ASEAN, ...”
evidence, article, points to no. Claim: Nations increasingly bypass the UN via the G20 and regional organizations like the African Union, ASEAN, and EU.
- Is the United Nations still relevant? Does the world still need it? | Assodesire
Source excerpt: “The United States owes roughly $1.5 billion in unpaid assessments, arrears that have since climbed above $2 billion, while China has run hundreds of m...”
statistic, article, points to no. Claim: The US owes roughly $1.5 billion in unpaid assessments, with arrears climbing above $2 billion.
- Reform, or lose trust: Governments press the UN to reflect the world as it is | UN News
Source excerpt: “· The United States offered a contrasting model based on institutional retrenchment: “We cut the UN budget for the first time ever, slashing it by 15 ...”
attribution, article, points to no. Claim: US says it cut the UN budget 15 percent in 2026 and eliminated more than 4,000 positions.
- Devex Newswire: UN cuts deepen debate over reform and relevance | Devex
Source excerpt: ““It was really a cost-cutting exercise, and because of the lack of vision as part of the process I think the risk is … that you end up with a U.N. tha...”
attribution, article, points to no. Claim: Reform advocate warned of a UN 20% smaller doing the same thing, less effective and losing relevance.
- Does the UN have a future?
Source excerpt: “And when the president of the United States, the country that was the driving force behind the founding of the U.N., stands up before the General Asse...”
attribution, article, points to no. Claim: Susan Rice said Trump's call at the General Assembly for annihilating another country shows how far the world strayed from the UN's founding vision.
- Does the UN have a future?
Source excerpt: “I would say it is barely still relevant, most importantly because its operational humanitarian agencies are delivering lifesaving assistance to millio...”
attribution, article, points to yes. Claim: Rice said the UN is barely still relevant mainly because its humanitarian agencies deliver lifesaving assistance to millions.
- Is the United Nations still relevant? Does the world still need it? | Assodesire
Source excerpt: “So, imagine the institution dissolves tomorrow. What actually happens? First, humanitarian collapse: within days, not years.”
evidence, article, points to yes. Claim: If the UN dissolved tomorrow, humanitarian collapse would follow within days, not years.
- Devex Newswire: UN cuts deepen debate over reform and relevance | Devex
Source excerpt: “The opinion, written by scholars Johanna Aleria P. Lorenzo and Jolene Lin, follows a landmark July 2025 advisory opinion from the International Court ...”
evidence, article, points to yes. Claim: A landmark July 2025 ICJ advisory opinion affirmed states' legal duty to protect the climate system.
- The UN at 80: repairing the multilateral order
Source excerpt: “The most recent surge of interest occurred during this year’s High-Level Week in September, where over 100 national statements mentioned Security Coun...”
statistic, article, points to yes. Claim: Over 100 national statements during 2025 High-Level Week mentioned Security Council reform, showing pressure to restructure.
- Reform, or lose trust: Governments press the UN to reflect the world as it is | UN News
Source excerpt: “As Secretary-General António Guterres put it: “The United Nations exists because power requires rules – and humanity needs a place where power answers...”
attribution, article, points to yes. Claim: Guterres: the UN exists because power requires rules and humanity needs a place where power answers to principle.
- Reform, or lose trust: Governments press the UN to reflect the world as it is | UN News
Source excerpt: “General Assembly President Rahman put it most sharply: “Outside these walls, people are not asking whether the United Nations still exists. They are a...”
attribution, article, neutral. Claim: General Assembly President said people are asking whether the UN works, not whether it exists.