‘Organic Evolution’ in the United Nations

Abstract

This chapter reviews the experience of ‘organic evolution’ in the United Nations, critically reflecting on its capacity as a central institution of global governance to respond to the catastrophic global risks facing humanity. The chapter focuses on those aspects of the United Nations’s activities most relevant to its core purpose of maintaining international peace and security. It begins by identifying the central dynamics of transformation experienced by global governance organisations before sketching a high-level history of ‘organic evolution’ in the United Nations’s structure and activities. It then outlines several key legitimacy challenges that arise from how the United Nations has evolved, further complicated by the United Nations’s many interactions with other organisations and entities. The chapter concludes by exploring some overarching questions which should guide deliberations on how the United Nations will approach the next stages in its organisational evolution, with particular attention to how its mandate in the area of peace and security may be meaningfully enhanced.