The new world disorder
If America pulls back from global institutions, other powers must step forward
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/sites/default/files/images/print-edition/20200620_LDD003_0.jpg)
SEVENTY-FIVE years ago in San Francisco 50 countries signed the charter that created the United Nations—they left a blank space for Poland, which became the 51st founding member a few months later. In some ways the UN has exceeded expectations. Unlike the League of Nations, set up after the first world war, it has survived. Thanks largely to decolonisation, its membership has grown to 193. There has been no third world war.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “The new world disorder”
More from Leaders
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240914_LDP502.jpg)
Mario Draghi’s best ideas are those Europe finds least comfortable
The danger is that it picks the easy ones
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_LDD004.jpg)
The Labour government’s worrying lack of ambition in Europe
Sir Keir Starmer is trapped by the mindset of the post-Brexit years
![](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240907_LDP502.jpg)
A make-or-break moment for Mexico
In America’s biggest trading partner the rule of law and democracy are under attack
The real problem with China’s economy
The country risks making some of the mistakes the Soviet Union did
What to do about America’s killer cars
The country’s roads are nearly twice as dangerous as the rich-world average. It doesn’t have to be that way
How to deal with the hard-right threat in Germany
As extremists win more votes across Europe, forming moderate and effective governments is getting harder