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His internal and external strategies – from the effort to overturn the election previously to latest incursions and statements – undermine both national and global law. But that’s not all.

These actions jeopardize the fundamental meaning of what we mean by.

The ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to prevent the dominant from preying upon and using the vulnerable. Otherwise, we risk being trapped in a conflict of all against all where only the fittest wins.

This concept lies at the center of America’s founding documents. This is also the foundation of the postwar international order championed by the US, which stresses collective action, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the rule of law.

But, it is a vulnerable principle, often broken by those who choose to misuse their influence. Upholding it demands that the those in charge have a sense of duty to avoid seeking temporary advantages, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions should they falter.

Unchecked strength does not equal right. It leads to instability, chaos, and conflict.

Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are advantaged prey upon those that are less so, the fabric of our shared norms unravels. If such aggression are not contained, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. We have seen this pattern previously.

Our current reality is a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than ever before. This encourages the elite to take advantage of the weaker because they perceive themselves as above the law.

The wealth of certain billionaires is almost beyond comprehension. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers a vast portion of the world. AI is likely to centralize economic and political clout even more. The offensive capability of the leading countries is without parallel in recorded history.

Supported by complicit legislators and a sympathetic high court, the presidency has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of the state in history.

Combine these factors and you grasp the looming crisis.

A clear connection connects previous breaches of norms to current provocations. Each were founded upon the overconfidence of invincibility.

You see much the same in other global contexts: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by massive conglomerates.

However, strength without restraint does not establish right. It fosters instability, revolution, and bloodshed.

Historical evidence demonstrates that frameworks designed to check the powerful also safeguard them. Absent these limits, their insatiable demands for greater influence and riches ultimately bring them down – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten world war.

This blatant disregard for rules will cast a long shadow over America and the global community – and indeed civilization – for the foreseeable future.