I DID NOT KNOW JOHN HOLMES , BUT I THINK I WOULD HAVE LIKED HIM . H IS long service to academia, the United Nations, and the government of Canada is emblematic of the ties that the Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS) seeks to foster between research and practice. And his own humility and humor provide inspiration to us all. I recently reread his 1988 keynote address, “Looking Backwards and For wards.” 1 Holmes perceived—in those dying days of the Cold War—that the UN had reached a crossroads in its history. But he also cautioned that a mo ment filled with promise and uncertainty should not give way to reinvention without a due understanding of what had come before. Those times—thought by some to herald a “new world order”—required visionary leadership in global affairs. They offered the UN a chance to reclaim the purpose of its founders. Our own times, you might think, bring more uncertainty than prom ise. It is true that the foundations of the global order are creaking under the weight of myriad challenges—from militant extremism to climate change. Such phenomena not only confront us with direct threats, but also risk an ero sion of our faith in the potential of the UN to act in the interest of the global collective good. It seems that, while the need for more effective global gover nance is more pressing than ever, those actors with the potential to provide it are faltering. Indeed, global governance, a term itself emblematic of the postNCold War order and the beginning of the new century, is in a state of deep crisis. Just as in 1988, the challenge falls to us to renew the promise of the world organization. Holmes and his colleagues undertook to “save succeeding gen erations from the scourge of war.” 2 This timeless duty is now ours.

中文翻译：

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约翰福尔摩斯纪念讲座

我不认识约翰福尔摩斯，但我想我会喜欢他。H 长期为学术界、联合国和加拿大政府服务是联合国系统学术委员会 (ACUNS) 寻求在研究和实践之间建立联系的象征。他自己的谦逊和幽默为我们所有人提供了灵感。我最近重读了他 1988 年的主题演讲，“向后看和看病房”。1 福尔摩斯意识到——在冷战即将结束的那些日子里——联合国已经走到了其历史的十字路口。但他也告诫说，一个充满希望和不确定性的时刻不应该让位于没有对之前发生的事情的适当理解的重塑。那些被一些人认为预示着“新世界秩序”的时代需要在全球事务中具有远见卓识的领导力。他们为联合国提供了一个机会来恢复其创始人的宗旨。你可能会认为，我们自己的时代带来的不确定性比舞会更多。诚然，全球秩序的基础在无数挑战的重压下摇摇欲坠——从激进的极端主义到气候变化。此类现象不仅使我们面临直接威胁，而且有可能侵蚀我们对联合国为全球集体利益采取行动的潜力的信心。看起来，虽然对更有效的全球治理的需求比以往任何时候都更加紧迫，但那些有潜力提供这种治理的参与者却步履蹒跚。事实上，全球治理这个本身就象征着后冷战秩序和新世纪开端的术语，正处于深深的危机之中。正如 1988 年一样，我们面临的挑战是重申这个世界组织的承诺。福尔摩斯和他的同事承诺“使后代免遭战祸”。2 这个永恒的责任现在是我们的责任。