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The national and international strategies – from the attempted coup in the past to current incursions and threats – undermine both national and global legal frameworks. The implications are broader.

They jeopardize the very concept of a civilized world.

The guiding principle of any advanced culture is to stop the dominant from attacking and exploiting the vulnerable. Without this, we would be locked in a state of nature where survival of the strongest could survive.

This principle is embedded of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the core of the postwar international order advocated by the US, built on collective action, democratic governance, human rights, and the legal authority.

But, it is a vulnerable principle, easily violated by those who choose to misuse their influence. Preserving it requires that the influential have the moral fortitude to avoid seeking short-term wins, and that the public ensure they answer for their actions when they fail.

Unchecked strength does not equal right. It makes for turmoil, disruption, and conflict.

Every time individuals, companies, or nations that are richer and more powerful target and use those that are not, the structure of civilization weakens. Should such behavior are left unchecked, the system fails. If not stopped, the world can descend into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a international landscape marked by extreme inequality. Authority and resources are more concentrated than in recent memory. This invites the elite to exploit the less fortunate because they perceive themselves as omnipotent.

The wealth of a handful of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The power of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace extends over much of the globe. Artificial intelligence is poised to consolidate economic and political clout further. The offensive capability of the major powers is unmatched in human history.

Supported by political allies and an accommodating judicial body, the highest office has been turned into the most dominant and unchecked instrument of government in the modern era.

Consider this confluence and you grasp the danger.

An unbroken thread ties earlier breaches of norms to present-day threats. Each were based on the overconfidence of absolute power.

You see a similar pattern in international affairs: in military conflicts, in strategic threats, and in the worldwide exploitation by massive conglomerates.

But, unfettered might does not create right. It fosters instability, revolution, and armed conflict.

History shows that frameworks designed to check the influential also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their endless appetite for increased control and resources eventually cause their collapse – along with their corporations, nations, or empires. And risk international catastrophe.

This kind of lawlessness will cast a long shadow over international stability – and indeed civilization – for the foreseeable future.