147. Moving from a world order to disorder
Many years ago, the Marxist Perry Anderson, writing in New Left Review, stated that “on any realistic assessment, international law is neither truthfully international nor genuinely law”. He was right.
Right now, there is an open challenge to the institutions of international law that oppose coercive power.
Actually, international law was set aside when the US launched two foreign interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. While officially intended to combat terrorism, these actions primarily served as clear efforts to change regimes.
Recently, I read an interview with a French judge at the International Criminal Court published in Le Monde.
In that he was narrating the impact of US sanctions imposed on him in August, following the ICC’s arrest warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu for crimes against humanity.
He states that sanctions have completely transformed his daily routine. His accounts with American companies such as Amazon, Airbnb, and PayPal have been closed. When he booked a hotel in France via Expedia, the company contacted him a few hours later to cancel the reservation, citing sanctions.
European banks, intimidated by warnings from US Treasury officials, hurriedly closed his accounts, and the compliance departments of European companies declined to offer him services.
Judges at the International Court of Justice have taken measures to prevent their assets from being confiscated.
Al-Haq, a Palestinian human rights organization, has had its bank accounts shut down as it faces sanctions for collaborating with the ICC.
This is a significant concern. In a recently published special issue of the London Review of International Law, over 40 scholars contributed essays discussing attacks on international law.
US President Donald Trump has been, right from assuming office early this year, undermining international law (the correct word is "killing"), although he is not alone in this dirty practice.
He sits in the Oval Office like a monarch and embarrasses world leaders by talking nonsense.
I find Trump’s approach to diplomacy resembles that of a mobster, using shakedowns, blackmail, and deal-making as primary tools to enact change. His persistent attacks on the global order have impacted every country.
This unpredictable politician has changed the direction of US foreign policy, leaving Washington’s former allies puzzled.
Institutions like the World Trade Organization, the G20, and the Paris climate agreement have turned into battlegrounds—places where the US demonstrates its supremacy or indifference, either by avoiding participation or demanding humiliating loyalty from its former allies.
He has nearly distorted free-trade principles by using the large US market to pressure allies, seeking both financial benefits and changes in their domestic policies.
John Kerry, a former U.S. vice president, has stated that during Trump's presidency, the U.S. shifted from being a global leader to a nation that denies, delays, and divides.
Trump’s foreign policy is muddled, with his formal non-interventionist stance conflicting with occasional interventions that try to balance global order with US interests.
Venezuela's sovereignty, with 303 billion barrels of crude oil—roughly 20% of the world’s reserves—faces a threat. The US has been bombing numerous boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific.
I was taken aback by US Vice President JD Vance's reaction when questioned about killing Venezuelan civilians without due process; he responded, “I don’t give a shit what you call it.”
In his first speech in February, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the postwar global order is no longer just outdated; it has become a weapon being wielded against us.
Rubio argued that the foundation was a false assumption—that humankind was meant to shed national identities and become “one human family and citizens of the world.” However, this was not merely a fantasy; it was, in fact, a perilous illusion.
The way Trump is forging a profitable relationship with Vladimir Putin, in which both sides plan to plunder Ukraine’s considerable material resources, is forcing the country to accept any terms to ensure its survival.
If Trump succeeds, it would be harmful to the future of NATO, the sovereignty of European countries, and the very existence of the EU.
Oman’s foreign minister, Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, directly addressed these issues during the Oslo Forum when he stated: “We are worryingly close to a world in which certain kinds of foreign intervention – if not outright invasion and annexation of territory – are accepted as a normal part of international relations, rather than as illegal violations of our shared international order?”
With the rules-based international order facing challenges, I worry that our common value foundation is weakening. A more multipolar world should be anchored in a unified set of norms and principles, such as the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sadly, this order can be easily destabilized or dismantled; restoring it will be nearly impossible.
(Top Photo Courtesy Tehran Times with thanks)