Coercion has been the primary tool of statecraft throughout President Donald Trump's second term up until this point. From the outset, tariffs, deportations, and a constant military rhetoric threatening to attack Greenland, Nigeria, Venezuela and Iran reflected the weaponisation of the American president's economic and administrative levers. In the days of his economic highhandedness, The Financial Times coined a phrase for President Trump: Trump Always Chickens Out (TACO). The phrase was amusing and also somewhat comforting. It suggested that perhaps all these threats and statements are superficial, that POTUS will ultimately back off, and that sanity will prevail.

What was unforeseen was the extent to which President Trump's use of economic and diplomatic coercion was gaining momentum, moving beyond the realm of rhetoric and hardening into a posture. To exacerbate the situation, President Trump's confidence strengthened following the events in Venezuela. The capture of Nicolas Maduro became proof of concept for Mr Trump, instilling a sense of confidence that he could bring down weaker states through swift and forceful military campaigns. Worsening matters was a paranoid and relentless Israel, which, like a favoured but troublesome child, persistently compelled its patron to indulge........

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