In the poorest countries, in “emerging” countries, and even in the richest countries, poverty and inequality are worsening, and this situation is unlikely to be fixed by a resumption in growth or by international aid alone. Both economic and political strategies must be put in place, such as economic stimulus, aid, redistribution policies, and state-building, as states alone are capable of controlling the destiny of their populations.

In a world severely unsettled by health challenges and the resulting power struggles, what is the role of the United Nations (UN), seventy-five years after it was established in a radically different world? Beyond reform, which currently seems unattainable, the global organization still embodies a universality that is unavoidable in the face of today’s problems: climate change, new health problems, and so on. It remains the only place to assert benchmark values even if these values are rarely respected. And through its specialist organizations (the UN “system”) it confronts very concrete problems, including development, food, and international regulations.

Asserting and challenging the law; peacekeeping under difficult circumstances; declaring human rights that are too often violated; establishing multiple safeguarding initiatives in all of these activities the UN is the mirror of the world, reflecting back its weaknesses and its hopes.

This issue is available in French only.

POVERTY: THE REBOUND

Global Poverty: The Impact of COVID-19, by Julien Damon

Poverty and Human Development in Emerging Countries, by Jean-Claude Vérez

The Africa of Poverty during COVID-19, by Georges Courade

United States: Poverty in the Land of Wealth, by Sophie Mitra

Development and Fight against Poverty: from Reconciliation to Scaling Up, by Rémy Rioux and Jean-David Naudet

THE UN IN SEARCH OF MEANING 

What Can We Expect of the UN Now? by Jean-Marie Guéhenno

What Can the United Nations Do in the 21st Century? by Sylvie Bermann

CURRENT AFFAIRS

Chinese Diplomacy: from “Fighting Spirit” to “Warrior Wolf”, by Marc Julienne and Sophie Hanck

Trump's United States and the Nagorno-Karabakh War, by Julien Zarifian

BAROMETERS

Philanthropists Without Borders: Are Private Donations Helping the World?, by Charles Sellen

Essequibo: An Old Wound between Venezuela and Guyana, by Alejandro Fleming

REFLECTIONS

Global Governance: A Single Pillar Does Not Build A House, by Louise Mushikiwabo

Breaking the Boko Haram-Nigerian Military Stalemate: Can Supercamps Sustain the Status Quo?, by Jacob Zenn

Lebanon: Chronicle of a Collapse, by Nabil el Khoury

BOOK REVIEWS

Routledge Handbook of Migration and Development, by Tanja Bastia et Ronald Skeldon (eds)
By Christophe Bertossi