As European leaders hobnob with their counterparts at the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, they must think carefully about how to navigate a fast-changing multilateral landscape. The old world belonged to rule-makers and institution-builders, but the current one favors those who can improvise.
BERLIN—As world leaders descend on New York City for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the international order they have ostensibly come to defend is in worse shape than at any point since 1945. China and Russia never fully accepted the post-Cold War international system, many newly assertive middle powers resent it, and its principal financial backer, the American public, has lost interest in underwriting it. With the UN about to choose a new secretary-general and US President Donald Trump’s administration openly hostile to multilateralism, it is unclear how much longer the system can stagger on.
BERLIN—As world leaders descend on New York City for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, the international order they have ostensibly come to defend is in worse shape than at any point since 1945. China and Russia never fully accepted the post-Cold War international system, many newly assertive middle powers resent it, and its principal financial backer, the American public, has lost interest in underwriting it. With the UN about to choose a new secretary-general and US President Donald Trump’s administration openly hostile to multilateralism, it is unclear how much longer the system can stagger on.