Need for seismic shift in the global geopolitical power balance

and impact from the long-term failure of the largest contributor to pay a massive amount.”

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It is this dynamic — polarisation amongst powerful member states rather than structural imperfection — that lies at the heart of the dysfunction, a point Mr John Negroponte, a former US envoy to the UN, made in a letter to the Wall Street Journal this week.

Being clear-eyed, one cannot see anything beyond stopgap measures to solve this — perhaps philanthropic donors might help with funding, but realistically there’s no will among the P5 for the genuine reform needed to tackle these issues.

GUARDING PUBLIC OPINION

Given this reality, it is a blessing that smaller players are keeping multilateralism alive by whatever means necessary.