In its 80th year, the United Nations (UN) has fallen into a major crisis. Severe funding shortfalls are forcing the UN to make cuts – and, more fundamentally, to reflect on whether its structures, approaches, and even its overall political relevance still meet the demands of our time. The UN development system has long been criticized for its high level of institutional fragmentation and low effectiveness. Its working methods are based on a traditional, project-based development aid paradigm that is rapidly losing importance.
Against this backdrop, the UN80 Initiative, launched by UN Secretary-General Guterres in early 2025, offers an opportunity to critically assess the UN’s development work: What is the current political and institutional state of the UN? How have global demands changed? What new functions and approaches are required in response? And what opportunities and risks arise from the current shifts in global power?
Team
Publications
Die UN80 Reforminitiative als Chance für Erneuerung
Baumann, Max-Otto / Hemmerich, Katja / Novoselova, Anna (2025)
In: VEREINTE NATIONEN Heft 4/2025, Seite 157-158
What now for the UN? A new evaluation prompts critical questions
Baumann, Max-Otto (2025)
published on devex.com, 15 July 2025
UN at 80 needs a new approach to reforming the UN development system
Baumann, Max-Otto (2025)
published on theglobalobservatory.org, 4 June 2025
Trump’s assault on foreign aid: implications for international development cooperation
Haug, Sebastian / Novoselova, Anna / Klingebile, Stephan (2025)
Discussion Paper (4/2025)
Trump 2.0 and the United Nations: implications for multilateral funding and leadership
Baumann, Max-Otto / Sebastian Haug / Marianne Beisheim (2025)
Bonn: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V. (Discussion Paper)
Imminent shifts at the UN: how Trump plays into China’s hands
Haug, Sebastian (2025)
in: The Diplomat, 28 January 2025
Embracing universality: toward the future of United Nations development work
Baumann, Max-Otto / Haug, Sebastian (2024)
in: International Studies Perspectives, first published 18 November 2024
Financing the United Nations: status quo, challenges and reform options
Baumann, Max-Otto / Haug, Sebastian (2024)
New York: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Why UN financing matters for effective multilateralism
Baumann, Max-Otto / Haug, Sebastian (2024)
published on theglobalobservatory.org, 18 June 2024
Pooled funding supports best practices in UN development work
Baumann, Max-Otto / Abualghaib, Ola (2024)
published on devpolicy.org, 21 March 2024
Events
Workshop
New ideas for United Nations development cooperation
Bonn, 18 July 2025
Workshop
UN80: Making room for what’s possible
Berlin, 30 June 2025
What we read
The mandate trap: Why the UN’s real reform test lies in letting go, Jordan Ryan.
The author reflects on the Mandate Implementation Report and argues that its findings will have little impact unless member states confront the political discomfort of relinquishing mandates.
UN80: What makes a UN Mandate Effective or Efficient?, Katja Hemmerich.
The author proposes three criteria for member states to assess the effectiveness of a UN mandate: 1) their willingness to pay for it; 2) their readiness to establish a review process; 3) ensuring that coordination costs proportionate to implementation costs.
The emerging contours of UN policy under Trump 2.0, Eugene Chen.
The author examines the Trump administration’s approach to the UN, concluding that opportunism is its defining feature.
Aid isn’t neutral – and that might be our best bet, Erica Harper.
The author sets apart institutional reforms from the politics of aid and calls for a less technocratic, more selective approach to development cooperation.