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His national and international strategies – including the attempted coup in the past to recent incursions and warnings – weaken both national and global legal frameworks. But that’s not all.

These actions jeopardize the fundamental meaning of a civilized world.

The ethical foundation of a functioning society is to prevent the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Without this, we could find ourselves locked in a state of nature where only the fittest could survive.

This ideal is central of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the foundation of the postwar international order supported by the US, which stresses international cooperation, democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law.

Yet, it is a fragile construct, easily violated by those who would exploit their power. Preserving it requires that the powerful have the moral fortitude to avoid seeking immediate gains, and that the public demand responsibility when they fail.

Unfettered might does not make right. It makes for uncertainty, chaos, and conflict.

Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful prey upon those that are less so, the framework of our shared norms weakens. If such aggression are not contained, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a society and world with deepening divides. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than ever before. This invites the powerful to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they act with a sense of above the law.

The resources of a small group of ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The reach of global industrial giants covers much of the globe. Advanced technology is could consolidate resources and influence even more. The offensive capability of the major powers is without parallel in the annals of time.

Empowered by complicit legislators and an accommodating supreme court, the executive office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of the state in recent memory.

Consider this confluence and you grasp the threat.

An unbroken thread ties past breaches of norms to ongoing threats. Both were based on the hubris of invincibility.

You see much the same in the actions of other powers: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the rampant monopolization by powerful corporate entities.

But, strength without restraint does not create right. It makes for fragility, revolution, and armed conflict.

Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to constrain the powerful also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for increased control and resources ultimately lead to their downfall – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk global conflict.

This blatant disregard for rules will cast a long shadow over international stability – and indeed a rules-based order – for a long time.