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The internal and external policies – from the attempted coup five years ago to recent actions and statements – weaken not only national and global jurisprudence. However, the issue goes deeper.

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

A ethical foundation of a functioning society is to stop the dominant from attacking and exploiting the less powerful. Otherwise, we could find ourselves permanently immersed in a brutish war where might makes right prevails.

This ideal is central of the nation's founding texts. It is equally the heart of the postwar international order supported by the US, emphasizing international cooperation, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

Yet, it is a delicate construct, easily violated by those who would exploit their power. Upholding it demands that the those in charge have enough integrity to refrain from seeking immediate gains, and that the public hold them accountable if they don't.

Unfettered might does not equal right. It makes for instability, chaos, and war.

Whenever individuals, companies, or nations that are wealthier and stronger prey upon those that are weaker, the fabric of our shared norms frays. If these actions are left unchecked, the fabric unravels. Allowing it to persist, the world can fall into disorder and conflict. History provides ample precedent.

Our current reality is a global community with deepening divides. Authority and resources are held by fewer hands than ever before. This encourages the privileged to leverage their position against the weaker because they act with a sense of above the law.

The wealth of a handful of tycoons is difficult to fathom. The reach of major corporations in technology, energy, and aerospace covers a vast portion of the world. Advanced technology is likely to further concentrate wealth and power to a greater degree. The destructive power of the world's largest nations is without parallel in human history.

Enabled by a compliant faction and a sympathetic high court, the executive office has been transformed into the supreme and answerable-to-none entity of the state in the modern era.

Combine these factors and you grasp the threat.

A clear connection links past breaches of norms to current menaces. Each were premised on the hubris of absolute power.

There is much the same in other global contexts: in wars of aggression, in strategic threats, and in the global depredation by powerful corporate entities.

Yet, raw power does not make right. It produces instability, upheaval, and armed conflict.

Historical evidence demonstrates that laws and norms to check the influential also safeguard them. Without such constraints, their relentless pursuit for greater influence and riches ultimately lead to their downfall – taking down their enterprises, countries, or domains. And risk international catastrophe.

This blatant lawlessness will haunt the nation and the world – and the very idea of civilization – for the foreseeable future.