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The domestic and foreign initiatives – from the attempted coup previously to recent incursions and threats – weaken both domestic and international law. The implications are broader.

These actions jeopardize the core idea of what we mean by.

The guiding principle of any advanced culture is to prevent the more powerful from harming and taking advantage of the vulnerable. Failing that, we could find ourselves permanently immersed in a state of nature where only the fittest could survive.

This principle is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. It is equally the core of the modern framework of international relations supported by the United States, built on international cooperation, popular sovereignty, fundamental freedoms, and the legal authority.

But, it is a fragile construct, often broken by those who choose to misuse their influence. Preserving it necessitates that the powerful have a sense of duty to avoid seeking temporary advantages, and that society demand responsibility when they fail.

Unchecked strength does not equal right. It results in instability, disruption, and conflict.

Each instance individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are not, the structure of our shared norms frays. If such aggression are left unchecked, the system fails. Without intervention, the world can descend into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

Today, we live in a global community with deepening divides. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than ever before. This encourages the powerful to leverage their position against the less fortunate because they feel above the law.

The fortunes of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The influence of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is likely to centralize economic and political clout further. The destructive power of the major powers is unmatched in recorded history.

Enabled by political allies and a pliant supreme court, the highest office has been turned into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of government in recent memory.

Consider this confluence and you perceive the looming crisis.

A direct line ties earlier breaches of norms to ongoing threats. These were founded upon the hubris of absolute power.

One observes much the same in other global contexts: in military conflicts, in expansive ambitions, and in the worldwide exploitation by massive conglomerates.

But, unfettered might does not create right. It produces uncertainty, upheaval, and bloodshed.

The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to check the powerful also shield them. If these guardrails are removed, their endless appetite for more power and wealth eventually lead to their downfall – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And threaten global conflict.

This blatant contempt for legal order will cast a long shadow over the nation and the world – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for a long time.