Mark Leon Goldberg

There’s a great deal of uncertainty in Washington, D.C. over President Joe Biden’s capacity to run as the Democratic nominee for President. If he declines to run for re-election, the most likely replacement is Vice President Kamala Harris. In this week’s episode of To Save Us From Hell we take a deep dive into Kamala Harris’ views of the United Nations. We discuss how she’s engaged with the UN since becoming Vice President and why there are some subtle but important distinctions […]

It’s been a tumultuous week in American politics: an assassination attempt on Trump, JD Vance nominated as the Republican vice presidential candidate, and the ongoing Republican National Conventions. In this episode of To Save Us From Hell, we take a look at what a second Trump presidency would mean for the United Nations. We discuss Trump’s views and approach to the UN from his first term in office, how COVID-19 completely changed his attitudes towards the UN, and what we can […]

Before we sat down to record this week’s episode, authorities in Iran announced that Hamas’ political leader, Ismael Haniyeh, was killed in Tehran. This news came just hours after Israel claimed responsibility for the targeted assassination of a top Hezbollah commander, who was killed in retaliation for a gruesome missile attack in the Golan Heights. Amidst this flurry, there is a heightened prospect that conflict will escalate further throughout the region.

The significance of the Summit of the Future is a somewhat tricky to convey. On the one hand, it is hard to overstate how much of a big deal the Summit of the Future for the United Nations, which bills it as a “once-in-a-generation opportunity.” On the other hand, the Summit of the Future has not really penetrated outside the UN bubble. Not yet, at least.

For most people in the foreign policy world, the annual opening of the United Nations General Assembly in New York each September tends to elicit reactions ranging from exasperation to eye-rolls.

As I write, hundreds of world leaders are on their way to New York for the opening of the 79th United Nations General Assembly. This is always one of the most important moments in international diplomacy, and this week will be no different.

When President Biden approached the General Assembly dais, I expected a bit of a historical tour of his 50-year career in public service. He delivered on that. I also expected him to speak directly to the three most urgent conflicts today: the widening conflict in the Middle East, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the crisis in Sudan. He addressed those crises as well.

When Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023, something at once very common and profoundly extraordinary took place.

The Israeli Defense Forces have continued their deliberate attacks on UN peacekeeping positions in southern Lebanon, including an incident in which UNIFIL Blue Helmets were injured by white phosphorus, an incendiary chemical agent used by the Israeli army. (Why does this keep happening, and what can make it stop?) Meanwhile, António Guterres finds himself in hot water with the Ukrainians for his attendance at the BRICS Summit in Russia, and a major UN conference on biodiversity is underway in Colombia.

The important thing to understand about Donald Trump’s approach to the United Nations is that he is not intrinsically hostile to it. In his first administration, he had several productive engagements with the UN, working through the Security Council on sanctions for North Korea and Iran, for instance. He also had a good working relationship with António Guterres, whom he invited to the White House. By all accounts, he rather enjoyed his annual addresses to the General Assembly and the pomp that surrounds UNGA each September.