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The national and international policies – from the effort to overturn the election in the past to current incursions and threats – undermine not only national and global jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.

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

A moral purpose of civilized society is to prevent the dominant from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Without this, we could find ourselves locked in a state of nature where survival of the strongest prevails.

This concept is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the foundation of the postwar international order championed by the US, built on multilateralism, democratic governance, human rights, and the rule of law.

However, it is a delicate ideal, often broken by those who would exploit their power. Preserving it necessitates that the influential have enough integrity to abstain from seeking temporary advantages, and that society demand responsibility if they don't.

Unchecked strength does not equal right. It leads to turmoil, disruption, and war.

Whenever entities that are richer and more powerful prey upon those that are less so, the structure of our shared norms weakens. If these actions are left unchecked, the structure collapses. Allowing it to persist, the world can plunge into instability and violence. We have seen this pattern previously.

Today, we live in a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Political and economic power are more concentrated than in modern history. This encourages the powerful to exploit the weaker because they perceive themselves as above the law.

The fortunes of a handful of ultra-wealthy individuals is staggering. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers numerous countries. Advanced technology is poised to further concentrate resources and influence even more. The military might of the leading countries is without parallel in recorded history.

Empowered by political allies and an accommodating high court, the executive office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none instrument of government in history.

Consider this confluence and you see the looming crisis.

A clear connection links past lawless actions to present-day provocations. These were based on the hubris of invincibility.

One observes much the same in international affairs: in territorial invasions, in coercive diplomacy, and in the rampant monopolization by massive conglomerates.

But, strength without restraint does not establish right. It makes for fragility, upheaval, and armed conflict.

Historical evidence demonstrates that rules and conventions to constrain the powerful also safeguard them. If these guardrails are removed, their insatiable demands for greater influence and riches ultimately lead to their downfall – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk global conflict.

This blatant disregard for rules will haunt international stability – and indeed civilized conduct – for the foreseeable future.