The UN, the perma-polycrisis, and our shrinking moral imagination
The United Nations, the world’s most ambitious peace project, is once again on the brink of running out of money. But this time, it feels different, big time.
We’re living through what many now call a perma-polycrisis, a constant layering of political instability and conflicts, economic pressures, and climate emergencies. And just when the world needs coordinated global leadership the most, the very institution built to provide it is being starved.
Only a third of UN Member States have paid their dues this year. Vital operations are being downsized, staff hiring frozen, peacekeeping missions jeopardised. And at the same time, military tensions are rising. Just this week, India launched airstrikes into Pakistan, which underscores a terrifying truth: cross-border attacks are becoming normalised, and the space for dialogue keeps shrinking.
Instead of reinforcing and investing in the UN, many of today’s leaders, especially those riding the wave of neo-nationalism, are turning back to an old script: take what you can, protect your own, dismiss the multilateral. But that same thinking once led us into the deadliest wars in human history.
It feels unfair that at a time when we should be reforming and strengthening global governance, we’re letting it wither. Yes, the UN is imperfect. It’s struggled, and at times, especially recent ones, failed. But tearing it down without imagining something better isn’t strategy.
What we need now is creativity. We need to make space for new narratives, ones that move us beyond rigid borders and outdated ways of making decisions, and are rooted in imagination, justice, and interdependence. We need to think like futurists and act like stewards. Because managing our shared future isn’t just a technical challenge. It’s a moral one.
Some say morality isn’t enough. But without it, we don’t just risk failing the system. We risk failing each other. Either we build together, or we fall apart. And this time, for good.
Dominikos K. Chrysidis works at the intersection of the public and private sectors, and non-profit and advocacy spaces. He has long experience in policy design, strategy, evaluation, and public diplomacy and communication, with a focus on strengthening EU bilateral relations with strategic partner countries and the Global South, and advancing a new kind of multilateralism. He is a Board Member of the Foundation for Global Governance and Sustainability (FOGGS) and former Managing Editor of Katoikos. He is passionate about advancing good governance in organisations, ethical leadership, sustainability, civic engagement and gender equality.
