Can the UN Still Act as the Emergency Platform the World Needs?

The 1997 East Asian financial crisis, the 2008 global food and energy crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic are all examples of global systemic shocks. And when the next Secretary-General takes office in January 2027, there will most likely be another complex crisis underway. 

These days, a new complex global crisis pops up about as often as the Olympics. And the UN Secretary-General may be the only leader who can persuade a divided world to respond as one.

Host Jasmin Bauomy and co-host Mark Malloch-Brown are joined by Sigrid Kaag, a former Dutch deputy prime minister and finance minister and UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process; Martin Griffiths, a former UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs; and Aarathi Krishnan, the founder and CEO of RAKSHA Intelligence Futures.

World’s Toughest Job is a co-production of Foreign Policy and the UN Foundation.

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