Amnesty International has declared the emergence of a ‘predator’ international order, where powerful states consciously orchestrate violence and repression to undermine the post-Second World War rules-based system. In its annual report, presented by Secretary-General Agnès Callamard in London, the organisation argues that leaders including Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and Benjamin Netanyahu are not simply erring but are engaged in a coordinated strategy of economic and political domination, one where ‘war replaces diplomacy’.

Viewed from Washington, the United States’ trajectory under Trump exemplifies this shift. Actions characterised as extrajudicial killings beyond its borders and a wholesale rejection of multilateral frameworks are seen not as anomalies but as deliberate components of a predatory approach. This marks a stark departure from America’s historical stewardship of international institutions, positioning it instead as a primary agent of their decay.

From Moscow, the Kremlin’s calculus appears similarly oriented. Analysts in London note that Putin’s Russia has long prioritised sovereignty over collective security, but the report frames its operations in Ukraine and elsewhere as part of a broader, organised system that privileges destruction over dialogue. The predation here is expressed through hybrid warfare and the blunt assertion of sphere-of-interest politics, directly challenging European stability.

In Jerusalem, the policies of Netanyahu’s government are contextualised within this global pattern. The ongoing conflict and expansionist practices in the Occupied Territories are depicted not as isolated violations but as integral to a conscious strategy of control, aligning with the methods of other predator states and further eroding human rights norms in a volatile region.

The broader perspective from European capitals underscores a profound institutional crisis. The very architecture of international law, painstakingly built from the ashes of the Holocaust, is being systematically negated by states acting as organised agents of a new, ruthlessly self-interested system. This constitutes a fundamental challenge to the premise of universal rights and cooperative governance.

Forward-looking analysis suggests a precarious road ahead. While Amnesty’s call for resistance and an alternative system resonates in diplomatic circles from Geneva to New York, the prevailing dynamics favour short-term predatory gains. The erosion of diplomacy and the normalisation of large-scale violence imply that reclaiming a functional international order will require unprecedented solidarity among civil society and surviving democratic states, a cohesion that remains elusive amid rising global tensions.