Strengthening the UN

This may be a poor moment for Western governments to become disdainful and dismissive of the United Nations. Both the United Kingdom and the US ought to shed their cynicism about the UN and strive actively to increase its international clout. Both could usefully throw their weight behind a more resolute and authoritative role for the Secretary-General. If, at year 40, Western governments could decide to be more positive about the UN as a basis for an international order, they might well find that a current of third-world opinion was ready to run with them.