The best elevator pitch for the U.N.

Posted By Blake Hounshell Friday, January 25, 2008 - 11:11 PM Share

Our humble Davos narrator, Shashi Tharoor, gave a remarkably concise, eloquent defense of the United Nations during a panel on the topic "Rebuilding Brand America" (moderated by FP Editor in Chief Moisés Naím). Here's what Tharoor said, referring to News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch's comment that "everyone knows" that the United Nations is "a corrupt, ridiculous, dysfunctional place":

I was a bit taken aback by some of the references to the U.N., largely because many of the individual countries in the organization have a great deal of regard for the U.S. of course, and the U.S. has its way more often than not in the U.N. And the fact is that, you know, a lot of the demonstrators against the U.S. in many parts of the world are probably really saying, "Yankee go home, but take me with you."

So, the admiration is real, but at the same time, what on Earth is the alternative for the U.S.? This is the one organization that brings every country together. Many countries, especially smaller ones, send their best and most skilled diplomats to New York. It's a place where the U.S. can engage with the rest of the world, where the U.S. can advance its goals in partnership with others rather than on its own. I mean, what's not to like about an institution that helps the U.S. to share the burden? Sure, it's got its limitations. Dag Hammerskjold said 50 years ago that the U.N. wasn't created to take mankind to paradise, but rather to save humanity from hell. And sometimes that's the best the U.N. can do. It can prevent things from getting a whole lot worse, and it seems to me that the U.S. has a great deal of interest in working with the rest of the world at the U.N.

You can also watch the YouTube clip of Tharoor below. Skip to 29:10 to see his remarks:

EXPLORE:DAVOS08, INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, U.S. FOREIGN POLICY, UNITED NATIONS

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