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The internal and external initiatives – ranging from the effort to overturn the election in the past to latest moves and warnings – undermine not only domestic and international jurisprudence. But that’s not all.

These actions endanger the very concept of what we mean by.

A guiding principle of civilized society is to stop the dominant from preying upon and using the less powerful. Failing that, we risk being trapped in a conflict of all against all where survival of the strongest wins.

This concept lies at the center of the Declaration and Constitution. It’s also the core of the global system established after WWII supported by the US, emphasizing international cooperation, democratic governance, fundamental freedoms, and the supremacy of law.

Yet, it is a delicate principle, often broken by those who would exploit their power. Upholding it necessitates that the those in charge have the moral fortitude to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that society ensure they answer for their actions if they don't.

Unfettered might is not right. It leads to uncertainty, chaos, and war.

Every time entities that are advantaged attack and exploit those that are not, the framework of society unravels. If these actions are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.

Our current reality is a society and world with deepening divides. Political and economic power are increasingly centralized than in recent memory. This encourages the elite to exploit the weaker because they perceive themselves as untouchable.

The wealth of a small group of billionaires is difficult to fathom. The power of big tech, big oil, and large defense contractors covers numerous countries. Artificial intelligence is could consolidate resources and influence even more. The destructive power of the leading countries is unmatched in recorded history.

Supported by complicit legislators and a sympathetic supreme court, the highest office has been made into the supreme and answerable-to-none agent of government in recent memory.

Combine these factors and you perceive the looming crisis.

An unbroken thread links past breaches of norms to current threats. Both were founded upon the hubris of invincibility.

One observes much the same in other global contexts: in wars of aggression, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by industrial titans.

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

History shows that frameworks designed to check the powerful also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for increased control and resources in time lead to their downfall – and with them their corporations, nations, or empires. And pave the way for world war.

This kind of lawlessness will haunt international stability – and the very idea of a rules-based order – for years to come.