Multilateralism's Critics and the UN's Future

The UN and multilateralism more broadly have long attracted criticism from several directions. Realist scholars of international relations argue that international institutions largely reflect, rather than constrain, the distribution of power among states. Sovereigntist critiques, prominent at various times in the United States and elsewhere, object to perceived constraints on national decision-making, a concern reflected in the US Senate's non-ratification of treaties such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Effectiveness-based critiques point to bureaucratic inefficiency and to the organization's documented failures to prevent atrocities in Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Syria, while nationalist and populist political movements in a number of countries have questioned the legitimacy of international bodies more broadly.