Discussions on a post-2030 development agenda are emerging. Member States and stakeholders should not rush into settling on any one clear vision for what this will look like. They should also not wait for the formal process to spoon-feed them a ready-made solution. The upcoming months provide a moment for open reflection among stakeholders to explore all options and scenarios and take action to prepare the ground for a process that would meet the moment. Christian Schlaepfer sketches out the political landscape, key drivers and possible scenarios for how this process might play out.

The role of the United Nations in promoting peace and security is front and center as geopolitical tensions run hot and the selection process for a new UN Secretary-General is well under way. This report explores the best avenues to make the United Nations more effective in the peace and security space both through UN80 reforms and a number of other means.

The contest to succeed António Guterres is underway. As candidates put forward their visions, the more pressing question is what kind of leader the moment demands.

UN’s budgeting process – the ‘who pays what’ that funds the world’s most important multilateral body – is fundamentally broken. We propose a dramatically different funding formula as a model to consider.

With the US stepping back and conflict on the rise, UN reform has shifted from a long-standing aspiration to an urgent necessity. The UK and EU are uniquely positioned to lead — but only if they bring the Global South with them.

The creation of UN Women in 2010 offers a rare case study in successful UN reform — and a cautionary tale for the rushed, inward-looking process underway today. Transformation requires vision, diplomacy, and time.

Despite the noise, multilateralism isn't dying — it's reinventing itself. From a landmark pandemic treaty to a wave of regional trade agreements, new forms of global cooperation are emerging, driven less by great powers than by countries determined to work around them.

The sartorial wedding advice offers governments a framework to meet the moment and avoid an outcome that moves toward the slow decline of multilateralism.

Inspiring and humbling in equal measure: Minh-Thu Pham reflects on her years in the UN Secretariat, the institution's enduring relevance, and why meaningful reform ultimately depends on whether member states trust each other enough to act.

As world leaders gathered in New York, the gap between demand for global cooperation and its supply had rarely felt wider. Five key tests — from Security Council reform to SDG financing — would reveal whether the UN still has the capacity to deliver.