Calls for reforms have been underway for years, reflected in the activities of the Group of Four (G4) - Brazil, Germany, India and Japan - for example; and the Sirte Declaration of the African Union (AU) in 2005, among others. But the renewed calls for reforming the UN in recent months have become louder, more significant and, indeed, more possible. The Russia-Ukraine war, which has divided the world into political camps, further empowered China - the world's soon-to-be largest economy - and emboldened many countries in the Middle East, Africa and South America.