• Says geopolitical fragmentation rises as major powers vie for influence
• Calls for stronger cooperation on debt, technology, development

ISLAMABAD: A new United Nations report has warned that the veto power of the five permanent members of the Security Council is one of the reasons multilateral mechanisms have been unable to prevent or stop the growing number of state-based conflicts.

The resulting paralysis has weakened decision-making processes, prompting the UN secretary-general to call for Security Council reforms, including an expansion of its membership to ensure fairer representation, particularly for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific region. All these voices are underrepresented despite bearing much of the burden of peacemaking in an increasingly multipolar world.

The ‘World Social Report 2026’ says geopolitical fragmentation has considerably heightened global risks, with multiple centres of power competing for economic, military and political dominance.

According to the report, the number of countries exercising substantial influence in another country has risen from six in the 1970s to 34 today.

The rise in geopolitical fragmentation is also evident from the neighbouring countries relations indicator, which has substantially deteriorated since 2008, with 59 countries recording poor ties with neighbours in 2024-25, while only 19 improved.

The evolving global order demonstrates a change from two competing countries (like the bipolar world during the Cold War) to a multipolar economic, military and political power structure.

In theory, a more multipolar world could strengthen multilateralism, compared to a world order dominated by two competing countries or one superpower. However, the current geopolitical fragmentation and pursuit of strategic dominance risk undermining multilateral processes and global collective actions, giving rise to “minilateralism” or “coalitions of the willing”, the report says.

Accelerating climate change, rapid technological advancements and geopolitical fragmentation demand a new generation of development planning that places social inclusion at the centre of economic, digital and energy transformations.

The report, prepared by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), says the experience of multilateral cooperation demonstrates that collective action can mobilise resources, strengthen accountability, support social progress, and expand opportunities for development.

Renewed international cooperation is therefore essential to addressing structural constraints that exceed national capacities, including debt burdens, financing gaps, digital taxation challenges, technological divides and climate-related vulnerabilities.

The report suggests that a renewed multilateral agenda should focus on three priorities.

First, expanding fiscal space for social investment through stronger international tax cooperation, improved domestic resource mobilisation, and comprehensive and systematic support for developing countries to reduce the cost of capital and debt service burden.

Second, promoting wider access to technology, innovation and digital infrastructure so that developing countries can participate more effectively in the global economy.

Third, reforming global governance arrangements to make them more representative, inclusive and responsive to contemporary challenges, thereby restoring confidence in collective action and strengthening accountability to development outcomes.

Rising conflicts and geopolitical tensions are weakening international cooperation, disrupting trade and supply chains, and diverting financial and political resources away from development priorities.

Not surprisingly, military expenditures are also rising sharply: more than half of countries increased defence spending as a share of GDP between 2020 and 2024, and all nine nuclear-armed states have expanded their arsenals since 2022.

As multilateral coordination becomes more difficult, countries with limited fiscal and institutional capacity face growing obstacles in accessing the financing, technology and knowledge needed for digital transformation, climate action and poverty reduction.

In low-income and vulnerable economies affected by conflict and fragility, including least developed countries, these are not background conditions but direct constraints on both transformation and inclusion: conflict destroys productive assets, deters investment and weakens institutions, while displacement disrupts education, health services and livelihoods.

The report stresses that although economic, digital and energy transformations are reshaping the world at an extraordinary pace, billions of people remain excluded from the jobs, skills, services, infrastructure and social protections needed to benefit from these changes.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2026