Description
The escalating polycrisis of the 21st century has rendered the United Nations' state-centric model dangerously obsolete. This paper argues that resolving this crisis of legitimacy and effectiveness requires reclaiming ambitious reforms once dismissed as impossible: a Global Assembly of Peoples, a permanent UN force, and global taxation. The Organization’s paralysis stems not from a lack of ideas, but from a recurring pattern where radical visions are systematically domesticated into managerial adjustments, preserving state sovereignty at the expense of global efficacy. Confronting interconnected threats like climate collapse and great-power conflict demands a multilateralism that transcends the sovereign box. The UN must therefore reclaim its original promise as a project beyond the nation-state—one capable of representing global publics, acting autonomously to prevent armed conflict, and tackling the redistribution of wealth.
