Nations, which was established after the Second World War with the idea that there should be no more wars and that peace and security should be ensured between states and nations, is an organization established on a legal basis to develop friendly relations and cooperation in the international arena and to play a role in the resolution of disputes or problems between states in the world. Of course, there was a psychology of war during its establishment. There was an environment where nuclear weapons were used and there was a shift towards the cold war. 

As a matter of fact, in the negotiations during the Second World War, the great powers stepped into the United Nations in a race despite being allies. Because they imagined the post-war global order in a projection and wanted to take steps accordingly. Criticism and reform proposals on the UN have generally been directed at the Security Council and the General Assembly for their inability to prevent the aggressive policies of the United States and the Soviet Union against other states during the Cold War and their use of the UN as a tool of manipulation. 

The biggest obstacle to changing this situation and implementing proposed reforms is the use of the veto power exercised by the United Nations Security Council. The reform of the United Nations is usually defined in terms of the decision-making process, that is, the decision-making process in Yalta, where for the first time every major state took a decision by consensus, is actually a subject of criticism, and in this age we live in, when we talk about reform, not only the decision-making process, but other issues should also come into play.As a matter of fact, there is a reform effort that started in 1960 and ended in 1963, where the number of temporary members of the Security Council was increased. 

Therefore, calls for reform are not new, there were calls for reform in the 1960s as well. In reform structuring, certain parameters must first be determined. In this framework, the purpose of the establishment of the United Nations is clear, but at the stage we have reached, this purpose should be re-evaluated and a reform should be designed in that case, the existing tools should be overhauled, and therefore the tools should be reformed. The methods and processes of the United Nations are important and need to be reformed. It is a question mark whether the UN can respond to threats in terms of capability and capacity. Perception is also important. The perception of what the UN is and what it does needs to be reformed.

Why Do We Need Reform?
It is observed that the UN does not reflect the existing power relations of the international system. Everyone understands reform in a different way. Some countries understand reform as protecting the existing decision-making mechanism and including them in that mechanism in a privileged way. There is no consensus on creating a mechanism. 

After World War 2, a war that brought great destruction and cost the lives of many people, the influential actors of that period searched for what we should do to prevent such a catastrophe from happening again, and the United Nations was established as a product of this search. The victors of the war at the time wanted to create a mechanism that would reflect the balance of power.

When issues such as climate protection and so on come into play, the organs belonging to the United Nations structure beyond the Security Council need to step in. But most of all, of course, it is not possible for the United Nations to fulfill its primary mission in the field of international peace and conflict prevention, which is the subject of our international relations. The sanction power of the United Nations was actually quite high. We have already seen some exceptional examples of the Security Council. It is actually a very effective mechanism, such as the use of military force and the use of military force by some countries in line with this decision. 

We have seen this mechanism being used against Iraq in 1991, so if this mechanism can really be used, we can talk about a very effective structure in terms of ensuring peace. Beyond armed conflicts, the United Nations also has serious duties in eliminating the dangers that await humanity or that humanity is increasingly exposed to. In this sense, it needs to be reformed in order to take effective decisions, and this is where everyone actually agrees.

Why The UN Is Failing Against The Calls?
International relations are shaped by the relations between international actors, whether they are shaped by law or by power. The UN,unfortunately, as we all know, it is determined by power, and sometimes law can even turn into a tool of power politics. When we go through the dilemma of power and law, if we were talking about international relations where the law is more prominent, then we would not be talking about this reform through power. If not, irreparable consequences may arise. The United Nations is a structure established to protect peace and security, so much so that today it is the only global organization that covers almost all States, so that when we talk about the global management of peace and security, the United Nations inevitably comes to mind as the only structure that we can talk about globally. 

The main reason for the trouble that befell the world before the Second World War was that power politics came to the forefront and this caused such a great trouble in international relations that millions of people lost their lives, millions were injured, many cities were devastated. The people who lived felt that whatever was necessary should be done to prevent this from happening again. In fact, this United Nations structure was born out of this victimization, but the demand for United Nations reforms today stems mainly from the fact that the structure did not serve this desired purpose, or was set up in such a way.  It is much higher than the demands of the 1990s, when this bad structure gained power with the Cold War and its influence became more visible. Today, in fact, it has reached a large amount or has reached a large amount, and he learly revealed the reasons for this. 

The ‘World is Bigger Than Five’ Narrative Epitomizes an Extremely Pro-reform Attitude in Turkish Foreign Policy

Unlike many countries, Türkiye is demands to the UN are expressed at a very high level, meaning that these demands go far beyond the views expressed only in the occasional press conferences of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and go beyond the views expressed in the speeches made by President Erdoğan himself in international settings, and still today, in his opening speeches at the United Nations General Assembly or on other platforms when appropriate. I can state that Türkiye has a moral responsibility to follow this work, especially if we talk about the concept of justice and the power parameter that Türkiye has at the point it has reached in order to ensure justice. Therefore, it should be emphasized that this is what makes Türkiye more specifically related to this issue. 

It is clear that Türkiye wants to lead this process, which requires a very long-term struggle, in the interests of the international community and in the name of justice. President Erdoğan has expressed this in a very succinct way by saying that the world is bigger than five. It is unacceptable that the permanent members are made up of the world’s ‘great powers’. In order for every country to be governed equally and for every country to have a say on global issues, it is imperative to designate temporary member states from the 7 continents of the world based on regions, population density, ethnic and cultural structures, and forms of governance. 

The fact that the General Assembly of the United Nations cannot take binding decisions, but the Security Council can, shows us that effective representation is actually very limited. Türkiye argues that the UN General Assembly should become the world parliament. The General Security Council should be accountable to the General Assembly. There is no transparency or accountability within the current structure as to why and how decisions are taken, and this must be ensured. It should be noted that this is the only way to have a truly representative system.