A Second UN Charter: Modernizing the UN for a New Generation (Session 1)

The World Citizen Book Club launched a two-part series on A Second UN Charter: Modernizing the UN for a New Generation, published in 2024 by the Global Governance Forum. This first session featured several of the book’s co-authors joining the discussion for a special Q&A.

About the Book

Eighty years after the advent of the United Nations, this comprehensive volume puts forward a detailed draft for a revised UN Charter — and thereby an upgraded UN — fit for the 21st century. Drafted by a broad range of international experts and academics, the proposed charter is accompanied by a running commentary explaining and justifying each revision. The book represents an important contribution to international efforts to create a UN architecture capable of addressing contemporary global challenges, offering an authoritative commentary on the considerations and compromises that Charter revision would require.

Co-Authors Joining the Discussion

• Augusto Lopez-Claros, international economist and Executive Director of the Global Governance Forum
• Guy Sinclair, Associate Professor at University of Auckland Faculty of Law
• Andrew Strauss, Dean Emeritus at the University of Dayton School of Law and Public International Law scholar
• Vesselin Popovski, Professor, Vice Dean and Executive Director at the Centre for the Study of United Nations at O.P. Jindal Global University
• Daniel Perell, Representative at the Bahá’í International Community’s United Nations Office

About the Lead Author

Augusto Lopez-Claros brings more than 30 years of experience in international organizations, including service as director of the Global Indicators Group at the World Bank and chief economist at the World Economic Forum, where he directed the Global Competitiveness Program. He previously served as the International Monetary Fund’s Resident Representative in Russia and as a Senior Fellow at Georgetown University’s Edmund Walsh School of Foreign Service. Educated at Cambridge University (Mathematical Statistics) and Duke University (PhD in Economics), his publications include Global Governance and the Emergence of Global Institutions for the 21st Century (2020, Cambridge University Press) and Global Governance and International Cooperation (2024, Routledge, co-edited with Richard Falk).

Discussion Highlights

This session introduced the book’s ambitious framework for a modernized United Nations, with the co-authors explaining the rationale behind their proposed revisions and the collaborative process that produced the draft charter. Participants engaged directly with the authors on questions of feasibility, political will, and the specific reforms most urgently needed.