Inside Geneva Is the UN still relevant at 80?
Sep 16, 2025
Richard Gowan, Director for UN and Multilateral Diplomacy at the International Crisis Group, discusses the UN's 80th anniversary and its role in a changing world. He emphasizes the UN's ongoing relevance for refugees and peacekeeping, despite criticisms. Gowan contrasts the quick-fix diplomacy favored by leaders like Donald Trump with the UN's long-term approach to peace. He also highlights troubling trends of states undermining UN operations and financial cuts threatening its efforts, urging a reassessment of member states’ commitment to reform.
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UN Still Matters On The Ground
- The UN remains materially relevant through peacekeepers and humanitarian operations for people like refugees in Bangladesh and displaced in South Sudan.
- But Richard Gowan warns the organisation is 'drifting' and losing political momentum among major powers.
Post-Cold-War Peak Then Ebb
- The UN's prominence peaked in the 1990s after the Cold War and has since waned amid repeated institutional failures and new geopolitical fragmentation.
- Gowan traces the ebb from post-Cold War centrality to diminished top-level political cover for UN mediators and peacekeepers.
Powers Sideline The UN Diplomatically
- Major powers including the US claim they want the UN to prioritise peacemaking but in practice avoid using it for today's big crises.
- Gowan argues this leaves the UN managing 'crumbs'—second-order crises no one else wants.