Evolving Trends, Diverging Interpretations, and Escalating Confrontations in the Field of International Security

Scope and content of international security has evolved since 1945. Many states and some international organizations are currently reshaping their own perceptions on security and revising architectures of security at regional and global level. For its part, the UN General Assembly has revitalized its role in the maintenance of peace and security by adopting resolution 76/262 on the standing mandate for a debate when a veto is cast in the Security Council. However, these evolving trends also lead to diverging and competing interpretations of international security among the main global actors. The outcome of this complex scenario is the escalation of tensions and confrontations at international level. Further, international rules and institutions are under stress by centrifugal forces, the UN Security Council is often deadlocked by tensions among its Permanent Members, and the prohibition on the use of force is applied restrictively while the self-defence exception is broadly construed, if not misinterpreted. The article wonders about the future of the UN system and highlights the risk of a possible failure. The exit strategy to strengthen the resilience of the UN system is to implement a new kind of multilateralism. In 1945 the UN Charter multilateralism was built around the Security Council in the name of collective security. Today, it is time for a more inclusive and comprehensive multilateralism, mainly based on the collective responsibility of all UN member states and bodies rather than on the primary responsibility of the Permanent Members within the Security Council. Collective proactivity should be the ‘password’ for moving towards a ‘UN 2.0’ as recommended by the UN Secretary-General ahead of the Summit of the future in 2023