 "Is the UN becoming a ‘zombie’ body? Prominent think tank flags fund cut risks")
The United Nations (UN) risks becoming a “zombie” organisation. It is still standing but drained of its effectiveness, warned Australia’s Lowy Institute in a recent analysis. The think tank cautioned that political paralysis, underfunding, and deepening mistrust among member states are pushing the world body toward irrelevance at a time when global cooperation is most needed.
The article, titled “Confronting the danger of a zombie United Nations,” argued that the UN’s credibility and functionality are eroding amid competing geopolitical agendas and shrinking resources. With major powers locked in rivalry and countries withholding financial support, the institution’s ability to mediate conflicts, respond to crises and uphold international law is diminishing fast.
The Interpreter piece notes that the UN’s core budget has stagnated even as demands on the organisation multiply. Chronic underfunding has left peacekeeping missions stretched thin and humanitarian operations increasingly reliant on voluntary contributions. This, the analysis said, risks turning the UN into a body that merely “exists but does not act.”
It also highlighted the growing divide between the Global North and South over UN reform, particularly around representation in the Security Council. The failure to adapt to changing global power structures, coupled with rising scepticism about multilateralism has led to what the article describes as a “crisis of legitimacy.”
The institute commentary also warned that if member states continue to underinvest in the system, the UN could soon become a symbolic institution — one with lofty ideals but limited practical reach. The analysis calls for renewed commitment from both major and middle powers to reform the organisation’s governance and financing mechanisms before it loses the ability to fulfil its founding purpose.
As wars, climate shocks and global inequality test international cooperation, the Interpreter’s warning is clear: without urgent political and financial renewal, the UN risks becoming a hollow shell, a “zombie” body walking through the motions of diplomacy without the strength to make a difference.
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