The catastrophic collapse of the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore was shocking. Local people expressed dismay at the sudden disintegration of a familiar landmark they had known all their lives. The post-1945 international order is a bit like that bridge. It was always there. Its authority, rules and resilience were taken for granted. Now, alarmingly, the entire global edifice is in freefall as the usual supports are kicked away.

The sense of things breaking apart is profound – and the negative ramifications are everywhere. The UN charter, bedrock of international law, is routinely flouted. The UN security council finally agreed an “immediate” Gaza ceasefire last week, only to see it contemptuously ignored.

In Ukraine, Myanmar and Sudan, war crimes and alleged genocide go unpunished and unchecked. Russia, Iran and India, among others, send assassins overseas to eliminate political opponents. Undeclared cyberwarfare knows no bounds.

Perceptions of permanent, lawless rupture are especially strong in the Middle East following the 7 October attacks and the Israel-Hamas war. The scale of the atrocities is alarming. So, too, is the impunity with which they have been met. UN court of justice orders to prevent famine receive mere lip service.

The relationship between the US and Israel, a regional keystone, is at breaking point. President Joe Biden and Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, barely speak. Biden demands more aid deliveries, a stop to threats of assault on Rafah, where 1.4 million Palestinians cower in fear and hunger, and postwar talks on a two-state........

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