The World After UNGA80: The Turning Point in Multilateralism

Октябрь 1, 2025

4:55 пп

New York, October 2025 — The 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly will be remembered as a pivot in the history of global cooperation. For years, the chorus of doubt has grown louder, with many questioning whether multilateralism was still fit for purpose. UNGA80 provided a decisive answer. It revealed a world order in flux, with old structures cracking, new forces rising, and the very definition of legitimacy shifting before our eyes.

The Context: Cracks in the Old Order

The 10th anniversary of the Sustainable Development Goals was meant to be a moment of celebration. Instead, leaders faced a sobering truth: progress is lagging, inequalities are widening, and the financing gap continues to grow. In response, the Assembly did not retreat into despair. Instead, leaders acknowledged that the old approach is no longer enough. The model of states alone carrying the burden of global governance is giving way to something more complex, more distributed, and more adaptive.

The Drama: Politics as Performance, Stakes as Reality

UNGA80 was also a reminder that diplomacy is theater as well as substance. High-profile moments captured the fragility of even the most carefully staged appearances. At the same time, quiet meetings on the sidelines forged unexpected alignments, with governments, investors, civil society leaders, and youth negotiators working together on new commitments.

The contrast between spectacle and substance underscored a deeper truth. Multilateralism today is not only negotiated in official chambers. It plays out in reputations, in public opinion, and in the ability to show results.

Four Structural Shifts

UNGA80 revealed profound shifts that will shape the next era of global cooperation:

Multilateral legitimacy is polycentric. It no longer belongs exclusively to states. Influence now depends on endorsement and co-ownership from a wider community that includes the private sector, philanthropy, youth movements, and indigenous voices.
Reform has become a battleground. Calls to restructure the United Nations are not procedural debates. They are struggles over power, authority, and the very role of the institution in a rapidly changing world.
Performance is part of diplomacy. Leaders compete as much in how they are seen as in what they agree. Narrative, perception, and symbolism have become tools of global power.

Coalition-building has eclipsed resolution drafting. What mattered at UNGA80 was not the text of declarations but the alliances formed to finance and implement solutions. Action now emerges through flexible groupings that bring together states, companies, and civil society.

The Landscape Ahead

The coming years will be defined by whether this new form of multilateralism can deliver on its promise. Key dynamics to watch include:

Institutional reform. Intense debates are underway over membership, voting rights, and funding structures.
Mission-based coalitions. Expect new groupings focused on climate, biodiversity, health, and technology, transcending old regional or ideological lines.
Narrative power. Leaders and institutions will need to frame compelling stories that resonate with publics and reinforce legitimacy.
Closing the legitimacy gap. As private wealth and civil society assume greater roles, questions of accountability will only grow sharper.

Managing fragmentation. The risk of overlapping initiatives and competing coalitions is real. Coordination will determine whether this new multilateralism succeeds or fractures.

A New Story of Global Cooperation

UNGA80 will be remembered as the hinge between two eras. The world of sovereign states negotiating resolutions in closed rooms has given way to a system that is distributed, hybrid, and contested. Multilateralism has not collapsed. It has mutated.

The challenge now is whether this evolving architecture can meet the urgency of climate change, inequality, and conflict. What is certain is that the old world of multilateralism is gone. After UNGA80, there is no going back.