INTERNATIONAL LAW
VOL. 10, NO. 2, PGS. 10–21

ESPAÑOL

Playing by the Rules?
When Ideals and Power Collide in American Foreign Policy
Benjamin A. Coates

Benjamin A. Coates is Associate Professor of History at Wake Forest University. He is the author of Legalist Empire: International Law and American Foreign Relations in the Early Twentieth Century.

At the Munich Security Conference in February 2026, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz opined that the rules-based world order “no longer exists.”1 If the international rule of law —at least as we have known it— is dead, then the United States surely bears a good deal of the blame [...]

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COMMENTS

Simón
11/03/2026

Translation:

Indeed, what the Trump government shows is the utter contempt for the rest of the world. It is an imposition of absolute power, undertaking military actions that allow for expansion and the increase of power. It is similar to the imperialist era, but without any excuses or justifications that might disguise that expansion—a ends-justify-the-means attitude if it benefits me, and international opinion doesn't matter.

All of this jeopardizes the slow and inefficient, yet steady, fight to achieve social justice (always watered down) and world peace, which is also precarious but better than this constant state of alert—what will be the next step in their power-hungry frenzy?—

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