"War is a substitute for courts...because courts are the original substitutes for war." Months after I read The Internationalists: How a Radical Plan to Outlaw War Remade the World, I'll find myself thinking back to that quote summarizing Hugo Grotius, a foundational force for today's international law. The book paints a case for the fragility of today's modern international order and provides interesting insight into how we got here. The paint on the borders of some eastern-europeans countries is so wet they seem to be moving. Trump is forcing America to break an international accord whose creation was spearheaded by none other than America. Even the head of a NATO member was nearly deposed in a coup attempt. Multilateral diplomacy and judicial arbitration seem to be on the decline.
We were a lot more excited about the UN when we last tasted a world war
I can recall my history books from elementary school and the impression of "news", "war" and "turmoil" effectively ending with the fall of the Berlin Wall. It seemed like we went to war until we could all agree on a new way to fight: through the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. Yet these international institutions seem helpless in stemming the erosion of norms and respect for sovereignty. They're the best tools we have to prevent global bloodshed. Fatal flaws aside, I really wish both entities would increase their marketing budgets and social awareness. It can be pretty easy to directly target important figures as well. Maybe start with a few ads on Fox & Friends?