In July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued an advisory opinion affirming that states have a legal obligation under international law to combat climate change. This opinion has been framed as a step forward for global climate action. Yet its interpretation also raises deeper questions about how international law engages with enduring inequalities […]
Analysis
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Last week, Devex reported on documents circulated by the Trump administration indicating that it “aims to pay a significant portion” of what it owes for the 2026 regular budget on the condition that the secretary-general implements a series of “quick win” reforms. According to the documents, the administration also “intends to make an additional, significant […]
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UN reform has been a perennial topic almost since 1945, but the issue has taken on added urgency amid attacks on the UN Charter, a major funding crisis, and multiple global emergencies. Once again, the UN is consumed by reform deliberations, this time under the “UN80” rubric.Discussing reform in the midst of crisis puts the […]
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The interactive dialogues are done. Four candidates, Michelle Bachelet, Rafael Grossi, Rebeca Grynspan, and Macky Sall, have made their pitches. The Security Council’s straw polls are expected to begin in late July. What happens next may unfold faster than anyone anticipates. Or it may end before it starts, forcing a long and uncertain search for […]
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The selection of a secretary-general ranks among the most consequential decisions the United Nations makes. If, as some have argued, the secretary-general is a secular pope, then this is the conclave. While the General Assembly has made progress in improving the transparency of the process, much of it remains opaque. It is therefore important to […]
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The recent move by Iran—and now the US—to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to US and Israeli strikes on Iran is more than a regional escalation. It affects one of the most strategically vital trade routes in the global economy. Before the outbreak of hostilities, roughly 20-25% of the world’s oil and gas […]
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The race to choose the next secretary-general of the United Nations is underway. In late April, candidates will appear before member states in New York for the now-familiar public dialogues introduced during the last selection process in 2016.Those debates marked a historic improvement in transparency. For the first time, candidates were required to publish vision […]
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Wako-Ojiwa and Knudsen on violence against women in Kenyan politics ahead of 2027.
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Dostyar, Pine, and Lopez on rethinking UN sanctions as a tool for diplomacy in Afghanistan.
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Christian Bueger on maritime security in the Strait of Hormuz and the case for UN involvement.
