Russia in Global Affairs

Brazen attempts to reorder the world in one’s own interest, violating UN principles, may beget instability, confrontation, and even catastrophe. Given the current level of international strife, recklessly rejecting the Yalta-Potsdam system, with the UN and UN Charter at its core, will inevitably lead to chaos.

The institution is a product of Western political culture and that’s its problem.

The shift in the UN power model from politics to ideology, over the past 30 years, is changing the organization’s reputation. Endowed with explanatory and motivational power and leading the way towards sustainable global development, the UN appears to be an institutional bearer of the global conscience.

The US and its allies are beating a drum that isn’t finding receptive ears. Most states have other priorities.

Genuine multilateralism requires that the UN adapt to objective developments in the process of forming a multipolar architecture of international relations. It is imperative to expedite Security Council reform by expanding the representation of countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The inordinate over-representation of the West in the UN’s main body undermines the principle of multilateralism.

The fossilized structures of the Cold War reproduce themselves in new forms, prompting conflict and global polarization. The political West is now challenged by the steadily constituting political East, a process that may restore balance in international politics.

On Thursday, October 8, the Valdai Club hosted an online discussion, titled “How Do We See the UN in the 21st Century?”, which was timed to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. Recognising that the nature of international threats has changed significantly during its existence, the speakers noted that the UN continues to play a unique role in the international system. The moderator of the discussion: Fyodor A. Lukyanov, Editor-in-Chief of Russia in Global Affairs.

The United Nations emerged from the ashes of the worst war in human history to preserve global peace. Seventy-five years later, though the UN remains a leading global institution, there is increasing talk of it being in crisis and the necessity of reform. Can the UN return to relevancy amid the geopolitical realities of the 21st century?