As the so-called “rules-based international order” fades, the old narrative of “might makes right” has taken hold of Russian state news broadcasts. Do the US raid in Venezuela and the Russian Oreshnik strike in Ukraine signal a return to raw power politics?

The weekly Russian news program Vesti Nedeli has delivered a blunt message to the proponents of the “rules-based international order”: power is once again the primary currency of global politics. In a series of rapid-fire events spanning from the Caribbean to the Arctic and to Western Ukraine, Washington and Moscow have pivoted toward a doctrine of pravo sil’nogo, the “right of the strong.”

The most dramatic development occurred on January 3 with “Operation Absolute Resolve,” a 30-minute lightning strike by US Delta Force commandos that captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife in Caracas. Supported by over 150 aircraft, the operation is the latest move in the Trump administration’s........

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