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. European and Asia countries in the survey had a median of 66 percent who had a positive view of the UN, perhaps reflecting the historical reality that the two regions of the world that suffered the most during the Second World War support an institution designed to decrease the risks of a global war happening again.

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. Among Tunisians, 40 percent expressed a negative view, compared to 33 percent with a positive view.

Of course, many countries were not included in the survey. Of particular importance, China — a permanent member of the UN Security Council — was missing. Lebanon, Tunisia and Israel were the only Middle Eastern states in the poll.

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. This reflects the growing Republican skepticism of international institutions and preference for unilateralism, while Democrats have maintained their support for the UN.

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. This trend was particularly strong in Brazil. 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 communications technology, global economic linkages, and cross-cultural interactions as normal rather than as changes to worry about. They are more likely to see climate change as a massive threat to their generation, requiring the cooperation of many countries to address. In the UK, younger Britons were much more likely to want to remain in the EU than older voters, and many of them see the Brexit vote as the older generation taking away opportunities that the younger generation had assumed they would inherit. Generational differences in attitudes toward the UN sometimes also reflect a similar dynamic, with young people preferring multilateral institutions that facilitate cooperation.

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.

• Kerry Boyd Anderson is a writer and political risk consultant with more than 14 years’ experience as a professional analyst of international security issues and Middle East political and business risk. Twitter: @KBAresearch