The United States was once the proud architect of global multilateralism. After World War II, it championed the creation of the United Nations, hosted it in New York, and used its financial and diplomatic power to shape international norms without firing a shot. But today, Washington has turned from builder to saboteur. The very institution it designed is being undermined, defunded, and weaponized in service of narrow political goals.
By 2023, the U.S. was still the UN’s largest benefactor, contributing about $13 billion annually—over 25 percent of all member funding. It covered 22 percent of the regular budget and nearly 27 percent of peacekeeping costs. Yet when influence slipped away, particularly in bodies where it had no veto, Washington chose retreat over diplomacy.
From 2017 onward, funding cuts became the primary weapon. Billions pledged to the Green Climate Fund were withdrawn. Grants to UNAIDS, malaria programs, and global vaccination campaigns were gutted. U.S. dues to peacekeeping lagged, while $2.6 billion for immunization through Gavi was cancelled outright. The result: shortfalls that crippled health programs, AIDS treatment, and refugee assistance—leaving millions vulnerable.
Internal UN memos revealed drastic emergency plans: staff reductions of 20 percent, nearly 7,000 jobs lost, and services scaled back across fragile regions. Secretary-General António Guterres warned of “institutional trauma” as arrears exceeded $1.5 billion.
This was not mere disengagement. It was deliberate sabotage. U.S. policy shifted toward punishing institutions and individuals deemed “anti-Israel” or insufficiently aligned with Washington. UN rapporteurs, ICC judges, and humanitarian officials investigating war crimes were sanctioned or banned from American soil. In March 2024, the Trump administration went further, imposing sanctions on Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, for her outspoken reports on Gaza.
Washington’s domestic politics mirrored its international coercion. U.S. states considering bans on Israeli products or endorsing boycotts were threatened with the loss of federal disaster relief funds. Abroad, the UN Human Rights Council, UNESCO, and even the World Health Organization were abandoned or defunded, usually under accusations of “bias” against Israel or favoritism toward China. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. exit from WHO left a dangerous leadership vacuum in the middle of the worst health crisis in a century.
The damage has been immense. Peacekeeping missions face cash shortages. Humanitarian operations run on shoestring budgets. Climate negotiations falter without U.S. participation. And repeated American vetoes at the Security Council—especially on Gaza—paralyze action despite overwhelming global consensus.
Yet this retreat has also spurred resistance. Nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America have increased their contributions to UN agencies, keeping programs alive despite Washington’s hostility. European governments rushed to fill gaps left by U.S. withdrawals, sustaining Palestinian refugee relief when Washington cut UNRWA funding. Even private actors like Michael Bloomberg stepped in, covering U.S. arrears to climate bodies. Ironically, by trying to strangle the UN, the United States has pushed other nations to make it more independent.
Still, the long-term threat is existential. If the U.S. continues to weaponize its contributions, sanction UN officials, and veto critical resolutions, the institution risks becoming a hollow relic. Born as a shield against war, the UN could devolve into a powerless bureaucracy—undermined not by its enemies, but by the very state that once called it the cornerstone of world order.
The United States once claimed to be the moral compass of the free world. Today it acts more like the wrecking ball of the very system it built. If Washington wishes to lead again, it must return to cooperation, fairness, and shared responsibility. Otherwise, the collapse of the United Nations will not just diminish the world—it will diminish America itself.
