Michael Møller | Is the United Nations Still Fit for Purpose?

Michael Møller, former United Nations Under Secretary-General and Director-General of the UN Office at Geneva, returns to The McKay Interview for a hard-hitting, wide-ranging discussion. With over four decades of service across five continents, Møller offers deep insight into the challenges facing multilateralism — and the urgent reforms the United Nations must now confront.

We discuss:

• The fragmentation of geopolitics and the fading taboo against the use of force

• How technology is reshaping international diplomacy — and exposing systemic weaknesses

• UN reform: why “UN 2.0” proposals may be too little, too late

• Why budget cuts are not just administrative — they’re existential

• The growing disconnect between the political UN and the operational UN

• Cities, regions, and businesses: the new multilateral actors stepping up

• The US and China: the funding gap that’s quietly paralyzing international cooperation

• The future of International Geneva – and whether it's being eclipsed by other global hubs

• What kind of leadership the UN — and the world — really needs

• Reflections on Gaza, Trump, peacekeeping, and the limits of diplomacy

Møller is frank, thoughtful, and unflinching. This is a timely episode for anyone concerned with the future of the international system and the role of the UN in a deeply divided world.