The Crumbling Pillars of Global Peace
The article discusses the decline of global peace, emphasizing the importance of the United Nations' founding principles against war and empire. It highlights the recent resurgence of conflicts and the failure of diplomacy in various regions. The author argues that the erosion of these foundational convictions is leading to a new era of instability and calls for a revival of international moral leadership.
- ▪The long peace of the past eight decades has relied on the principles that wars of aggression are intolerable and that empires must end.
- ▪Recent years have seen a rise in interstate and civil wars, with significant suffering for millions.
- ▪The abandonment of the convictions against war and empire is attributed to a loss of international moral leadership.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
The Crumbling Pillars of Global PeaceWar, Empire, and the Forgotten Power of the United Nations Thant Myint-U May 21, 2026 The United Nations logo at the UN headquarters in New York City, September 2025 Jeenah Moon / Reuters THANT MYINT-U is a Senior Fellow at the United Nations Foundation and the author of Peacemaker: U Thant and the Forgotten Quest for a Just World. More by Thant Myint-U Share & Download Print Subscribe to unlock this feature or Sign in. Save Sign in and save to read later Close Share The Crumbling Pillars of Global Peace War, Empire, and the Forgotten Power of the United Nations Thant Myint-U Share in email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Copy Link Copied Article link:…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Foreign Affairs.