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The internal and external initiatives – from the attempted coup previously to recent incursions and threats – undermine not only national and global law. However, the issue goes deeper.

These actions jeopardize the very concept of a civilized world.

A ethical foundation of any advanced culture is to stop the dominant from harming and taking advantage of the less powerful. Failing that, we risk being locked in a brutish war where only the fittest could survive.

This concept lies at the center of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the heart of the modern framework of international relations advocated by the US, built on collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the legal authority.

But, it is a vulnerable principle, frequently ignored by those who would exploit their authority. Upholding it requires that the influential have a sense of duty to abstain from seeking immediate gains, and that society demand responsibility if they don't.

Unchecked strength is not right. It leads to turmoil, upheaval, and war.

Each instance entities that are wealthier and stronger attack and exploit those that are less so, the structure of civilization frays. If these actions are not contained, the fabric unravels. If not stopped, the world can fall into chaos and war. It has happened before.

Today, we live in a international landscape grown vastly more unequal. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than in modern history. This encourages the elite to exploit the weaker because they feel untouchable.

The wealth of certain ultra-wealthy individuals is almost beyond comprehension. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors extends over a vast portion of the world. AI is could further concentrate resources and influence further. The offensive capability of the major powers is unprecedented in the annals of time.

Enabled by political allies and a pliant judicial body, the presidency has been turned into the most powerful and unaccountable instrument of government in history.

Combine these factors and you see the looming crisis.

A direct line connects previous transgressions to present-day provocations. These were based on the arrogance of omnipotence.

One observes a similar pattern in the actions of other powers: in territorial invasions, in expansive ambitions, and in the global depredation by powerful corporate entities.

But, unfettered might does not make right. It produces fragility, upended order, and armed conflict.

The lessons of the past reveal that laws and norms to limit the powerful also protect them. If these guardrails are removed, their endless appetite for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And threaten world war.

Such contempt for legal order will plague America and the global community – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for a long time.