Ian Bremmer sits down with UN Secretary-General António Guterres ahead of the 80th UN General Assembly to talk about war, diplomacy, and the existential pressure on global governance.

Guterres doesn’t mince words: “What’s happening today in Gaza is morally, politically, and legally intolerable.” With conflicts raging from Gaza to Ukraine to Sudan, and funding for life-saving aid programs evaporating, the Secretary-General says the international system is failing when it’s needed most.

In a wide-ranging conversation, Guterres addresses the West’s retreat from multilateralism, the need to reform outdated global institutions, and why mid-sized powers are increasingly driving conflict—often with total impunity. He also discusses the UN’s dramatic internal cost-cutting push (an initiative he dubbed “UN80”) and why, despite a 15% budget reduction, he believes the organization can still become more effective.


“We are more capable,” Guterres says. “When you make the system more slim and more unified, you gain in efficiency."

GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations(check local listings).

New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO'sYouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.

More For You

Supporters of the youth-led satirical political movement Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) celebrate the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in Mumbai, India, 26 July 2026
Deep Nair/ZUMA Press Wire

For weeks, tens of thousands of people in India – most of them young people – protested outside the Jantar Mantar, a historic observatory in New Delhi, to demand the resignation of the country’s education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan. Five days later, they got what they asked for.

A U.S. military aircraft takes off from an unknown location during what U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) says are strikes on Iran, in this screengrab from a handout video released on July 29, 2026.
U.S. Central Command/Handout via REUTERS

Egypt said two ships were hit with a drone in the port of Damietta on Wednesday, just 40 miles from the exit of the Suez Canal, the first attack in the country since the war began.