The United Nations was created in 1945 from the ashes of World War II, designed for a world very different from today's. The geopolitical balance that shaped its structure—five permanent Security Council members with veto power, weighted voting in some institutions, distinct roles for "great powers" and smaller states—reflects post-war realities long since transformed. As global challenges from climate change to pandemics to mass displacement require international cooperation, questions about whether the UN's institutions remain fit for purpose have intensified.