Hegemon Loses Moral High Ground

A major power’s one‑off, unilateral military strike without UN, NATO, or congressional endorsement can permanently erode its perceived moral authority. Once ceremonial and institutional forms of legitimation are abandoned, future uses of force will be read internationally as narrow self‑interest rather than defence of an international order. — This reframes debates about the legality or utility of a strike into a question of long‑term coalition capacity and the health of the liberal international order.