Global views of the UN remain mostly positive
The annual meeting of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) wrapped up last week. While the UNGA’s power is quite limited, the meeting provides an important opportunity for the world’s countries to talk to each other, with each of the 193 member states having a chance to voice their views.
Recent years have seen intensified questioning of the value of the current global order, which centers around norms and institutions created after the Second World War, with the UN acting as the centerpiece of a rules-based system. Some countries feel they were left out of the process that created the modern world order, while some of the countries who created that order now have leaders who are publicly skeptical about its value. Thus it is worth taking stock of people’s views of the UN.
The Pew Research Center recently published findings from a global opinion poll carried out in the spring. The survey of 32 countries found that “a median of 61 percent have a positive view of the UN,” reflecting a generally positive view of the institution globally.
However, there are exceptions to this positive picture. Russia, Israel and Tunisia were the only countries in the poll whose populations had a more negative than positive impression of the UN. In Russia, 43 percent of respondents have an unfavorable view of the UN, compared to 34 percent with a favorable view, despite Moscow’s unusually strong position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Israel, which has long accused the UN of having an anti-Israel and even an anti-Semitic bias, reflected the most negative views, with 65 percent of respondents having an unfavorable perception of the UN. The survey found that, for many countries, views of the UN have not changed significantly. However, Russian views of the UN have become notably more negative, with favorable views dropping from 58 percent in 2007 to 34 percent in 2019. In the US, Americans’ overall favorability rates of the UN have not changed much, but — as is true with so many other issues — partisan divides have widened. In 1990, there was only a small gap between Democrats’ and Republicans’ favorable views of the UN, but today 77 percent of Democrats have a positive view of the UN while only 36 percent of Republicans say the same.
The survey also found that, in 19 of the 32 countries, younger people were more likely than older people to have a positive view of the UN. There are multiple potential explanations for this, which are likely to vary by country, but, generally, younger people tend to be more comfortable with an interconnected, globalized world.
Indeed, it is perhaps younger people who have the most to lose from any erosion of the international institutions. The world’s youth will inherit the world of tomorrow. They are more likely to see modern economic linkages, and cross-cultural interactions as normal rather than as changes to worry about.
The UN is far from perfect, but no international organization consisting of 193 countries will ever please everyone. For those who have concerns about the UN, finding ways to reform and improve it is a far better option than giving unhelpful critical speeches or arguing against the
UN’s global role. The world needs a platform for global discussion and an institution to facilitate global cooperation, and the UN is far better positioned to meet that need than any other entity.