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
Beyond aid: a new vision for the UN development function
Browne, Stephen / Frederik Matthys / Detlef Palm / Max-Otto Baumann (2025)
Discussion Paper (32/2025)
United Nations development work should engage all member states
Baumann, Max-Otto / Sebastian Haug (2025)
www.un.org/en/chronicle, 9 October 2025
Three topics for a repositioning of the UN’s development arm
Baumann, Max-Otto (2025)
The Current Column of 8 September 2025
Russia's role in UN development work: influence without investment?
Novoselova, Anna (2025)
Policy Brief (15/2025)
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 UN80 solvency imperative: Successful reforms need clean finances first, Thibault Camelli
The author emphasizes that UN reforms cannot be sustainable without financial stability. A solvency framework must precede reform, ensuring transparency, predictability, and accountability to secure timely member-state payments and lasting reform.
The reform trap: When speed kills substance and why UN80 tempo rewards motion over clarity, Frederik Matthys
The author notes that current UN reforms prioritize speed over substance, producing superficial outputs. To achieve real impact, UN80 should slow down, set priorities, allow time for coordination, and clearly communicate which changes require political agreement.
Beyond Trump: How Far-Right Governments Change International Organizations through Voluntary Funding, Alexandros Thoki & Lisbeth Zimmermann
The authors analyse how far-right governments shape international organizations through voluntary funding to advance ultranationalist and anti-migration agendas, showing that these strategies extend beyond the US across OECD countries.