Hello and welcome to the GZero World Podcast.

This is where you can find extended interviews from my show on public television.

I'm Ian Bremmer, and this week, world leaders gather in Midtown Manhattan for the 80th annual United Nations General Assembly.

Eight decades after its founding charter promised to, quote,

save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

Conflict rages on in Ukraine and Gaza and Sudan, while humanitarian crises stretch from Haiti to Yemen.

And yet, the United Nations itself is in crisis.

Secretary General Antonio Gutettish has warned the organization must learn to do

less with less as budget shortfalls threaten life-saving programs from HIV-AIDS work to protections

from women and girls in conflict zones. Unlike sovereign states, the UN can't borrow money or levy

taxes, it survives entirely on member state contributions.

And the United States, its longtime largest donor has radically shifted its four and eight

outlook under President Trump, slashing billions in spending.

China, the second most important member state, has also become a less reliable donor.

Meanwhile, other nations like Argentina and Mexico have dragged

their feet or become delinquent on mandatory dues. To cope, Gutettish has proposed consolidating

agencies, cutting staff, and even moving offices away from Pricie, New York, and Geneva. But can reforms

rescue the multilateral body at 80,

or is it destined to follow the League of Nations

into irrelevance?

I put those questions directly

to the Secretary General.

...