Friday, December 26, 2025 -In 2025, seismic shifts in U.S. foreign policy are eroding the foundations of international law and the global rules-based order.
The Trump administration’s aggressive withdrawal from major multilateral commitments, including exiting key international organizations and freezing large portions of foreign aid, has weakened cooperation on global health, development, and humanitarian protections.
These moves have reduced collective capacity to respond to crises and signaled a sharp retreat from shared legal responsibility.
By imposing punitive measures on international legal bodies such as the International Criminal Court, Washington has sent a clear message: accountability is conditional.
Financial restrictions, travel bans, and political pressure targeting officials involved in sensitive investigations have disrupted the court’s ability to function. Prosecutors face blocked access to resources, partners are retreating from cooperation, and critical investigations risk stalling, leaving victims of alleged war crimes and human rights abuses without a path to justice.
The consequences are immediate and global. Institutions designed to enforce international law and mediate conflict are being sidelined, creating a power vacuum that rewards unilateralism and coercion.
As legal norms weaken, other states are encouraged to ignore rules when it suits them, accelerating instability. What once relied on shared obligations is now drifting into uncertainty, where power increasingly overrides law and the protections meant to uphold global order are left exposed.
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