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His internal and external initiatives – from the challenge to the democratic process previously to current actions and warnings – weaken both national and global law. But that’s not all.

They threaten the very concept of a civilized world.

The ethical foundation of civilized society is to stop the stronger from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Without this, we risk being locked in a state of nature where only the fittest wins.

This ideal is embedded of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the core of the global system established after WWII supported by the America, which stresses multilateralism, popular sovereignty, individual liberties, and the legal authority.

But, it is a vulnerable ideal, often broken by those who choose to misuse their power. Preserving it requires that the powerful have a sense of duty to abstain from seeking immediate gains, and that the public demand responsibility should they falter.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It leads to instability, disruption, and conflict.

Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger target and use those that are not, the framework of our shared norms frays. If such aggression are not contained, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can fall into instability and violence. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a global community grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than ever before. This encourages the powerful to exploit the weaker because they act with a sense of above the law.

The resources of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is difficult to fathom. The influence of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors extends over much of the globe. AI is poised to further concentrate resources and influence even more. The offensive capability of the world's largest nations is unmatched in the annals of time.

Enabled by political allies and a sympathetic judicial body, the highest office has been transformed into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of the state in the modern era.

Consider this confluence and you grasp the looming crisis.

A direct line connects earlier transgressions to ongoing menaces. Each were premised on the hubris of omnipotence.

You see much the same in other global contexts: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.

Yet, unfettered might does not establish right. It fosters instability, revolution, and war.

Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to constrain the influential also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources in time lead to their downfall – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk world war.

Such disregard for rules will plague international stability – and indeed a rules-based order – for a long time.