TOPIC TODAY: End of the Rules-Based Order?The brazen seizure of assets and leaders has signaled a shift in global power dynamics that feels more like the 19th century than the 21st.• Are we witnessing the birth of a Neo-Imperialist era where borders only exist if you can defend them?• Does the "World Police" behaviour of President Trump make the world safer, or does it simply provide a blank check for impunity to every other leader on the planet?• The Big Question: Where do we, as citizens of the world, find our protection when the protectors are the ones rewriting the rules in their own favour?
SCENE: Evking’s Bar, Ikeja. The sound of clinking glasses is drowned out by the news anchor’s voice.
JIDE: Look at that. A Russian-flagged ship seized on the high seas, the President of Venezuela snatched from his own palace, and now Greenland is on the "shopping list." If this were a movie, we’d say it’s too far-fetched. But this is 2026, and US, acting as the "World Police" just took off it's badge and put on a crown.
BISOLA: It’s a legal nightmare, Jide. We are looking at a total disregard for Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which strictly prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. When the most powerful nation on earth treats international law like a Terms of Service agreement they can just "skip," the entire framework of global peace evaporates.
[03] OLA: But Bisola, isn't this just the reality? The UN has been toothless for years. Trump is just saying out loud what everyone else does in secret. He wants the oil, he wants the Arctic minerals, he wants the "narco-dictators" gone. It’s "Gunboat Diplomacy" for the digital age.
JENNIFER: That "honesty" is dangerous, Ola. If the US can capture a sitting President today, what stops Russia from doing the same in Ukraine, or China in Taiwan? We are approaching a New World Order where sovereignty is a luxury only the nuclear-armed can afford.
NNE: And what about the message it sends to our own leaders here in Africa? If the "Leader of the Free World" can operate with total impunity, why should a local Governor or President listen to the courts? It’s giving "I am the Law" vibes.
BISOLA: Exactly, Nne. This behavior provides a "manual for impunity." When world leaders see that consequences only apply to the weak, they use that as a shield to quell dissent at home. They’ll say, "If Trump can seize a whole country’s oil, why are you complaining about me seizing a few hectares of land or arresting a journalist?"
ELDER EPHRAIM: We are moving backward. We spent a century trying to build a world where "Right" was more important than "Might." Now, we see a President threatening Denmark - a NATO ally! - to sell their land or face "options." It’s the behaviour of a landlord in a face-me-I-face-you apartment, not a global leader.
EOO: The lines on the map are beginning to bleed. If the sanctuary of a nation’s borders is no longer sacred, then the sanctuary of the individual is next. We are watching the sunset of the "Citizen" and the sunrise of the "Subject."
JIDE: So, the UN is basically a decorative plant at this point. The real question is: who draws the line? If the "World Police" is the one breaking into the houses, who do you call?
The Inquiry: A World Without Walls
As the dialogue at Evking’s Bar shows, the "Trump Doctrine" of 2026 raises existential questions for the 21st century:
• The Sovereignty Scale: Is "Territorial Integrity" now a sliding scale based on how much oil or strategic value you have?
• The Domestic Drift: How will this brazen international impunity empower local autocrats to ignore their own constitutions?
• The Successor States: If the US abandons the UN framework, will the world split into "Spheres of Influence" dominated by whoever has the most missiles?
• The Moral Hazard: By treating the President of another nation as a common criminal to be "captured," does the US open its own leaders up to the same treatment in the future?
JIDE: Look at that. A Russian-flagged ship seized on the high seas, the President of Venezuela snatched from his own palace, and now Greenland is on the "shopping list." If this were a movie, we’d say it’s too far-fetched. But this is 2026, and US, acting as the "World Police" just took off it's badge and put on a crown.
BISOLA: It’s a legal nightmare, Jide. We are looking at a total disregard for Article 2(4) of the UN Charter, which strictly prohibits the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. When the most powerful nation on earth treats international law like a Terms of Service agreement they can just "skip," the entire framework of global peace evaporates.
[03] OLA: But Bisola, isn't this just the reality? The UN has been toothless for years. Trump is just saying out loud what everyone else does in secret. He wants the oil, he wants the Arctic minerals, he wants the "narco-dictators" gone. It’s "Gunboat Diplomacy" for the digital age.
JENNIFER: That "honesty" is dangerous, Ola. If the US can capture a sitting President today, what stops Russia from doing the same in Ukraine, or China in Taiwan? We are approaching a New World Order where sovereignty is a luxury only the nuclear-armed can afford.
NNE: And what about the message it sends to our own leaders here in Africa? If the "Leader of the Free World" can operate with total impunity, why should a local Governor or President listen to the courts? It’s giving "I am the Law" vibes.
BISOLA: Exactly, Nne. This behavior provides a "manual for impunity." When world leaders see that consequences only apply to the weak, they use that as a shield to quell dissent at home. They’ll say, "If Trump can seize a whole country’s oil, why are you complaining about me seizing a few hectares of land or arresting a journalist?"
ELDER EPHRAIM: We are moving backward. We spent a century trying to build a world where "Right" was more important than "Might." Now, we see a President threatening Denmark - a NATO ally! - to sell their land or face "options." It’s the behaviour of a landlord in a face-me-I-face-you apartment, not a global leader.
EOO: The lines on the map are beginning to bleed. If the sanctuary of a nation’s borders is no longer sacred, then the sanctuary of the individual is next. We are watching the sunset of the "Citizen" and the sunrise of the "Subject."
JIDE: So, the UN is basically a decorative plant at this point. The real question is: who draws the line? If the "World Police" is the one breaking into the houses, who do you call?
The Inquiry: A World Without Walls
As the dialogue at Evking’s Bar shows, the "Trump Doctrine" of 2026 raises existential questions for the 21st century:
• The Sovereignty Scale: Is "Territorial Integrity" now a sliding scale based on how much oil or strategic value you have?
• The Domestic Drift: How will this brazen international impunity empower local autocrats to ignore their own constitutions?
• The Successor States: If the US abandons the UN framework, will the world split into "Spheres of Influence" dominated by whoever has the most missiles?
• The Moral Hazard: By treating the President of another nation as a common criminal to be "captured," does the US open its own leaders up to the same treatment in the future?
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