US UN envoy pushes unilateral cuts amid geopolitical tensions, obscuring multilateral failures and structural power imbalances
Original framing: “US envoy Waltz touts ‘America first’ policy, budget cuts in Senate swipe at UN” — South China Morning Post
The US has a long history of undermining multilateral institutions when they resist US dominance, including withdrawing from UNESCO in 1984 over perceived anti-Western bias and the WHO in 2020 during the pandemic. Structural power imbalances in the UN Security Council (e.g., veto powers of the US, UK, France, China, Russia) have historically enabled US unilateralism while demanding compliance from weaker nations. The current budget cuts echo the 1980s 'New Right' assault on international cooperation, which framed multilateralism as antithetical to 'national sovereignty.'
The US's 'America First' assault on the UN is not an isolated policy but part of a decades-long pattern of undermining multilateralism when it conflicts with US strategic or economic interests.
By framing budget cuts as a victory for efficiency, the narrative obscures how these cuts exacerbate global governance failures, particularly in conflict zones and climate-vulnerable regions where the UN's role is irreplaceable. The historical record shows that US disengagement has often been a tool to reshape global institutions in its image, rather than address systemic inequities—echoing colonial-era tactics of divide-and-rule. Cross-culturally, the UN remains a critical forum for Global South nations to challenge Western hegemony, making US unilateralism a direct threat to their sovereignty and survival. The solution lies not in further weakening the UN but in democratizing its funding, empowering marginalised voices, and investing in alternative frameworks that prioritize collective well-being over power politics.