by Mark Hopkins

Created on: May 22, 2007

The USA and the UK conceived the idea of the United Nations during the dark days of the Second World War. The grim consequences of powerful nations ignoring the norms of civilized behavior were only too apparent. So was the potential of the USA as a force for good.

The rapid onset of the Cold War in the late 1940s meant that the UN did not function as intended. The Communist bloc and the West tended to use their power of veto to obstruct their opponents in a game of political chess. Despite this the UN did have some successes when neither side saw their interests threatened. The World Health Organization and UNRRA, for example did much good work around the world. UN peacekeeping forces helped to keep the peace in some of the world's trouble-spots.

However, as time has gone by it has been increasingly difficult for a country such as the USA, which pays a very large proportion of the UN's running costs, to see what it gets in return. This has particularly been the case since the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union. The UN is no longer needed as a place to block the USSR's ambitions or criticize its actions.

If the USA stopped paying dues to the UN, the UN might collapse and this would matter. Imperfect though it is, its pronouncements carry a moral authority unmatched by other organizations. This is because of its world wide membership. Countries tempted to defy the UN know that they are courting serious trouble.

Without the UN the danger is that the world reverts to a nineteenth century approach; might is right. This regularly produced major conflicts, ending in two world wars. With current weaponry, the world would not survive a third one. Without the UN it could be even more difficult to harness all the world's nations to tackle the problems facing all Humankind. Whether we like it or not, our fates are increasingly bound together, so we should strive to improve the UN, not undermine it.

Perhaps we should see it as a slightly errant and misguided teenager. Given time and care it will grow out of the worst of its foolishness, because it has good parents and in its heart it knows right from wrong.

It's always tempting to 'take your bat home' when things don't go your way, but I say hang on in there!

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