The US proved a very flawed global policeman, but the world has begun to normalise and multiply the very worst of its behaviors. It’s difficult to imagine a way to put this genie back in its bottle. There is, according to Schmitt, no prospect of a new, enforceable international treaty being agreed to impose restraint.
Yet governments can and should spell out, in public and in detail, what they think the laws governing cross-border military action are, creating some basis for constraint and deterrence. They should be ready to call out and oppose obvious cases of abuse — like Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, or Israel’s disproportionate response in Gaza — based on self-evident facts and accepted legal principles.
Bloomberg Opinion at Deccan Herald. The new multipolar world mimics the US at its worst
It’s no coincidence that much of the international customary law governing when you can and can’t attack targets on territory that isn’t yours is based on historical incidents that involve America.