I am puzzled by cries of anguish at the outcome of the world summit in New York. The results, or, as the critics would say, lack of them, were unsurprising. The United Nations holds up a mirror to its members. If it has failed to produce a stunning new architecture for the global system, that is because national leaders are still divided over the design. It is too soon, though, to despair.

The UN is an imperfect institution. Its structures still reflect the outcome of a war that ended 60 years ago. Vast swaths of the globe are excluded from representation at the organisation's highest levels. At some stage this will have to be fixed. It is apparent too that the UN's political masters are far from a perfect consensus on the purpose and reach of global governance in the post-post-cold-war era.