Inter Press Service News, United Nations, April 6, 2026:
Stephen Zunes told IPS this is not about cost-cutting or fiscal responsibility. “Like cutbacks to important U.S. government agencies and domestic programs, the Trump administration appears determined to dismantle the system itself.” This should be understood in the context of pulling out of international organizations and treaties, the establishment of the so-called “Board of Peace,” the Iran War, and the recently announced dramatic increases in military spending—it is about undermining international legal institutions and replacing them with an imperial order backed by raw military force, said Zunes.
Category: Inter Press Service
Inter Press Service, UN
Interview: Is the US Planning to Throw a Lifeline to a Sinking UN?
Inter Press Service, UNITED NATIONS, Feb 6 2026 (IPS)
Zunes is quoted about U.S. efforts to undermine the United Nations.
Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, told IPS on the one hand, the United States has been in arrears in its payments to the United Nations quite a bit in recent years, but the UN has managed to get by. However, the extent of the Trump administration’s cutbacks and the ways they are being targeted at particularly vulnerable programs has resulted in this unprecedented fiscal crisis. “The hostility of the Trump administration to the United Nations is extreme. Trump has made clear he believes there should be no legal restraints on the conduct of U.S. foreign policy, so it is not surprising he would seek to undermine the world’s primary institution mandated with supporting international law and world order,” declared Dr Zunes.
Is US Moving Towards UN’s Exit Door?
Inter Press Service by Thalif Deen, United Nations, Jan 13 2026 (quotes Zunes): “The Trump administration, however, appears to be rejecting the post-WWII international legal system as a whole. His statements, particularly since the attack on Venezuela, appear to be a throwback to the 19th-century imperial prerogatives and a rejection of modern international law.”
“As a result, it is possible that Trump could indeed pull the United States out of the United Nations and force the UN out of New York.”
The Only Remaining Colony in Africa Continues its Struggle for Independence
Inter Press Service, October 30, 2025, By Thalif Deen
[quoting Stephen Zunes; source link]
Described as a non-self-governing territory in northwestern Africa fighting for decolonization, Western Sahara is the last African colonial state yet to achieve independence… A former Spanish colony, it was annexed by Morocco in 1975… On October 30, the UN Security Council is scheduled to vote on a draft resolution on the future of the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO).
US Threatens UN Members Seeking Two-State Solution to Israeli-Palestine Conflict
Inter Press Service, UN June 13 2025 (IPS) By Thalif Deen [source]
Zunes quoted on the extreme efforts the Trump administration is taking to prevent the emergence of even a Palestinian mini-state alongside Israel, including threats of “diplomatic consequences” against countries if they attend a UN conference on a two-state solution
France to Break Away from UK and US While Recognizing Palestine as a Nation State
Inter Press Service, UN April 18, 2025, Quoted by Thalif Deen [source]
“Dr. Stephen Zunes, Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, who has written extensively on the politics of the UN, told IPS it is rather bizarre that State Department spokesperson Bruce would bring up Hamas, which is a rebel Palestinian group openly challenging the internationally-recognized government of the Palestine Authority (PA), in a question about recognition of the state of Palestine.
And the PA, he pointed out, had nothing to do with the October 7 terrorist attacks. It is revealing, however, that she emphasized the so-called Abraham Accords, which are designed to get Arab states to unilaterally recognize Israel instead of doing so in return for Israel ending the occupation and allowing for an independent Palestine, which has historically been the position of Arab governments.
Putting Bruce’s bizarre response aside, however, the Trump administration’s policy is not that different from that of the Biden administration. Biden, like Trump, opposed any recognition of Palestine by the United Nations or any member state.
One year ago, under Biden, the United States vetoed an otherwise-unanimous UN Security Council resolution recommending full membership for Palestine. It even claimed the International Criminal Court had no jurisdiction regarding war crimes committed from or on Palestinian territory because Palestine was not a state.
The United States has long insisted that the only way a Palestinian state should be recognized was under terms agreed to by the Israeli government, despite the fact that the Israeli government has categorically ruled out Palestinian statehood, declared Dr Zunes…”
UN Faces Backlash from a Hostile White House
Inter Press Service UN Bureau Report, Jan 30 2025
Dr. Zunes is quoted extensively in this report:
“No leader of a major power since the UN’s founding in 1945 has expressed such disdain for fundamental principles of international law.” It should be remembered, though, that the United States was already undermining such principles under previous administrations, he pointed out. For example, even under (former US President Joe) Biden, the United States recognized Israel’s illegal annexation of the Golan Heights and Morocco’s illegal annexation of Western Sahara, both seized by military force in contravention to unanimous UN Security Council resolutions. Hostility towards UN agencies isn’t new either, said Dr Zunes… [source]