As the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) opens on September 9, the world’s attention will inevitably return to the sprawling headquarters in New York City, where leaders, diplomats, and journalists gather in the annual ritual of speeches, summits, and behind-the-scenes negotiations. But beneath the diplomatic pageantry lies a sobering reality: the UN is facing perhaps the deepest crisis in its history.

Born in 1945 out of the ashes of World War II, the UN was created to prevent future global wars, foster cooperation, and uphold international law. Eight decades later, the organization looks anything but united. International law is increasingly ignored, multilateralism is eroded, and geopolitical rivalries are at their most toxic since the Cold War. Instead of collective action, the dominant trend is every nation for itself. The result is an institution that appears adrift, underfunded, and struggling to prove its relevance in a fractured world.

The global context in which the UN operates has rarely been this dire. Relations between Europe and Russia have plunged to their lowest point since the 1980s, thanks largely to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The US-Russia relationship, particularly in the Trump era, is harder to define. President Donald Trump’s disdain for multilateral institutions, including the UN, means Washington is unlikely to be a bridge-builder. Instead, Trump prefers one-on-one negotiations with powerful counterparts like Vladimir Putin, bypassing forums such as the Security Council.

Meanwhile, populism and far-right movements are gaining strength worldwide, most of them hostile to immigration, globalism, and the UN itself. The result is a growing skepticism about whether international cooperation is possible at all.

One of the most immediate threats to the UN’s survival is financial.........

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