The UN in a Unipolar World

The UN in a Unipolar World

• With the US as the world’s biggest power, the issue arises as to whether the UN can balance the US’s global hegemony. With unrivaled economic and military might, the US can afford to overlook the UN and also wield immense economic and administrative influence inside the organisation
• Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the globe became a unipolar world. However, analysts from throughout the globe believe that America’s unipolar era is drawing to a close
• Because the UN is headquartered in the United States and the US is the single greatest donor, it can effectively halt any policy that the US perceives to be detrimental to its interests. As a result, the UN does not provide an adequate check on USA’s dominance
• However, the UN has supplied a forum and helped bring together to discuss divisive issues and, in several instances, to speak out against the US’s actions; in this regard, the UN offers a venue in which US’s perceptions and policies can be modified

• While the UN is not a flawless organisation, it has undoubtedly played a significant constructive part in the world’s development. With the growing interconnectedness of the globe in this era of globalisation, the UN’s influence is certain to grow in the future. Nations must devise strategies for supporting the United Nations and other international organisations that are compatible with their own interests

World Trade Organisation (WTO):  

• The World Trade Organisation is a global body that establishes the rules governing global commerce
• World Trade Organisation was established in 1995 as the replacement to the post-1945 General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
• The World Trade Organisation has 164 members
• Although all decisions are consensual, big financial superpowers such as the US, the EU, and Japan have been able to exploit the World Trade Organisation to shape trade laws to their own advantage
• Emerging economies often lament opaque institutions and being pressured by superpowers

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): 

• International Atomic Energy Agency was formed in 1957, to fulfil US Chancellor Dwight Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” concept

• International Atomic Energy Agency attempts to encourage nuclear safety and to avoid its use for military reasons

• International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors frequently audit nuclear plants all around the globe to guarantee that civilian reactors are not being exploited for military applications

Amnesty International: 

• It is a non-governmental organisation that advocates for the preservation of human rights around the globe

• It advocates for the observance of all human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

• It holds that human rights are inextricably linked and inseparable

• It compiles and releases civil rights reports

• Governments are not often pleased with these findings, since Amnesty’s primary emphasis is on government officials’ misbehaviour

• Nonetheless, these reports are critical for human rights study and activism

Human Rights Watch: 

• It is a global non-governmental organisation (NGO) dedicated to human rights research and advocacy

• It is the largest international human rights organisation in the US

• It draws the global media’s attention to human rights abuses

• It aided in the formation of worldwide coalitions, such as those for the prohibition of landmines, the abolition of child soldiers, and the establishment of the International Criminal Court

World Bank:

• The World Bank was established in 1944, during World War II
• World Bank’s actions are mostly directed toward poor nations
• World Bank contributes to human progress (education, health), agriculture and rural development (watering, rural services), protection of the environment (pollution reduction, establishment and enforcement of regulations), infrastructure development (roads, urban renewal, and power generation), and governance (anti-corruption, development of legal institutions)
• World Bank lends and awards money to member nations
• As a result, World Bank has a considerable impact on the economic policies of emerging nations
• World Bank is often chastised for establishing the financial agendas of poorer countries, imposing harsh terms on its loans, and imposing free-market policies

International Monetary Fund (IMF):

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a multilateral organisation that supervises international financial institutions and laws. The IMF now has 189 member nations (as of 12 April 2016), although they do not have equal voting rights
• The US (16.52 percent), Japan (6.15 percent), Germany (5.32 percent), France (4.03 percent), the United Kingdom (4.03 percent), Italy (3.02 percent), and Canada (2.22 percent) have a combined 41.29 percent of the vote. China (6.09%), India (2.64%), and Russia (2.59 percent ) Brazil (2.22%), and Saudi Arabia (2.02%) are the other two significant members