Can the ICC or UN Save Us?
The Brutal Truth Nobody Wants to Hear
Can the ICC or UN Save Us?
The Brutal Truth Nobody Wants to Hear
The Jack Hopkins Now Newsletter #721: Wednesday, January 7th, 2026.
Let’s get something straight right now-before hope turns into paralysis.
Every time a democracy starts wobbling, a predictable question pops up:
“Can the UN step in?”
“What about the ICC?”
“Isn’t there some international authority that can stop this?”
That question sounds reasonable. It feels comforting.
It’s also dangerously naïve.
Because here’s the blunt truth-no international body is coming to rescue American democracy.
Not the UN. Not the ICC. Not NATO. Not anyone.
And the faster people understand that…the better chance we have of stopping what’s unfolding.
The Fantasy of External Rescue
Authoritarian movements love one thing above all else: delay.
They thrive while citizens wait for:
“The adults in the room”
“The courts”
“The institutions”
“The international community”
Waiting is how takeovers happen.
And the belief that someone else will step in is the most reliable way to ensure no one does.
So let’s dismantle the fantasy-starting…with the two institutions people keep invoking like magic words.
The ICC: Powerful on Paper, Toothless in America
The International Criminal Court exists to prosecute:
War crimes
Crimes against humanity
Genocide
Sounds promising, right?
Except for one small detail that makes all the difference:
The United States does not recognize the ICC’s authority.
That’s not a technicality. That’s the whole story.
The ICC:
Cannot compel U.S. cooperation
Cannot subpoena American officials
Cannot arrest anyone inside U.S. jurisdiction
Cannot enforce rulings against Americans
If you’re imagining ICC investigators parachuting into Washington with handcuffs… you’re watching too many movies.
But…and this is important…“toothless” does not mean “irrelevant.”
The ICC’s real power is not enforcement.
It’s documentation.
The ICC creates:
Permanent legal records
International consensus on what actually happened
Historical anchors that survive regime changes
Authoritarians fear records almost as much as resistance…because records make denial impossible later.
The ICC doesn’t stop the crime.
It makes sure the crime…can’t be erased.
That matters…but…it won’t save you in the moment.
The UN: A Spotlight, Not a Shield
Now let’s talk about the UN…the organization people imagine as some kind of global referee.
The UN has zero authority to intervene in U.S. governance.
None.
What it can do:
Issue formal reports on democratic backsliding
Appoint special rapporteurs
Validate that what’s happening is not normal politics
Coordinate diplomatic pressure if things spiral
What it cannot do:
Overrule U.S. elections
Block domestic power grabs
Force compliance from a nuclear-armed superpower
The UN doesn’t stop authoritarianism.
It names it.
And naming matters…but naming alone doesn’t stop a fire from spreading.
Think of the UN as a floodlight…not a fire extinguisher.
Why These Institutions Still Matter (Even Though They Won’t Save You)
Here’s where the analysis gets subtle…and where most people get it wrong.
International bodies don’t prevent collapses.
They catalog them.
They don’t stop the crime.
They raise the cost of committing it.
They don’t protect democracy directly.
They make it harder to pretend the destruction was accidental.
That has consequences:
Markets react
Allies reposition
Sanctions become easier to justify
Post-regime accountability becomes unavoidable
Which is exactly why…authoritarians spend so much time…discrediting “global institutions.”
They know something important:
You can survive resistance.
You can survive protests.
But permanent records are harder to outrun.
The Uncomfortable Truth Nobody Wants to Say Out Loud
Here it is…the sentence people keep dancing around:
If American democracy is saved, it will be saved internally…or not at all.
Not by Geneva.
Not by The Hague.
Not by New York.
By:
State officials who refuse illegal orders
Judges who hold the line
Civil servants who don’t comply
Journalists who keep publishing
Whistleblowers who take risks
Citizens who apply sustained pressure
International institutions can support that effort.
They cannot…replace it.
And the most dangerous thing citizens can do right now….is outsource responsibility to an imaginary cavalry.
Why Waiting Is the Authoritarian’s Favorite Strategy
Every successful power grab relies on the same psychology:
“Surely someone will stop this.”
That belief buys time.
Time buys normalization.
Normalization buys surrender.
By the time international bodies weigh in meaningfully…the damage is usually already done…and the question shifts from prevention to containment.
That’s not pessimism.
That’s history.
So What’s the Correct Way to Think About the ICC and UN?
Here it is…clean…accurate…and usable:
They matter for legitimacy
They matter for records
They matter for future accountability
They matter for global alignment
They do not matter as first responders.
They are force multipliers…not saviors.
And anyone telling you otherwise…anyone selling hope based on “international intervention”…is either uninformed….or lying to you.
The Real Question You Should Be Asking
The real question is not:
“Can the ICC or UN help us?”
The real question is:
“What am I doing so that when history is written, there’s something worth documenting?”
Because international institutions don’t create resistance.
They record it.
And authoritarian regimes don’t fall….because someone asked politely from overseas.
They fall….when the cost of continuing becomes higher than the cost of stopping.
That equation is solved…
…here at home.
Not abroad.
#HoldFast
Back soon,
-Jack
Jack Hopkins
P.S.
Resources for Those Who Want Facts-Not Fantasy
If you want to understand what international institutions can and cannot do—and how democratic erosion is actually documented-start here. These are not “hope merchants.” These are record-keepers.
International Law & Accountability
International Criminal Court (ICC)
– Official explanations of jurisdiction, limits, and prosecutorial scope
– Case histories involving crimes against humanity and transnational offenses
→ https://www.icc-cpi.int
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
– The treaty that defines what the ICC can prosecute—and who is bound by it
– Essential for understanding why the U.S. is outside ICC enforcement
→ https://www.icc-cpi.int/resource-library
United Nations Monitoring & Reporting
UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
– Democratic backsliding reports
– Election interference assessments
– Special rapporteur findings
→ https://www.ohchr.org
UN Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
– Formal investigations into rule-of-law erosion and authoritarian practices
→ https://www.ohchr.org/en/special-procedures
UN General Assembly Reports on Democracy and Rule of Law
– Annual documentation of global democratic decline and election interference
→ https://www.un.org/en/ga
Election Interference & Authoritarian Playbooks
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence — Russia Investigation Reports
– Bipartisan, documented findings on foreign interference in U.S. elections
→ https://www.intelligence.senate.gov
National Intelligence Council — Foreign Threat Assessments
– Official U.S. intelligence evaluations of foreign influence operations
→ https://www.dni.gov
Freedom House — Freedom in the World Reports
– Longitudinal data tracking democratic erosion globally and domestically
→ https://freedomhouse.org
Democratic Resilience & Civil Defense
Brennan Center for Justice
– Legal analysis on election security, authoritarian tactics, and institutional defense
→ https://www.brennancenter.org
Protect Democracy
– Research and litigation tracking anti-democratic behavior in real time
→ https://protectdemocracy.org
Atlantic Council — Digital Forensic Research Lab (DFRLab)
– Analysis of information warfare, disinformation campaigns, and foreign influence
→ https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/programs/digital-forensic-research-lab
Historical Context & Pattern Recognition
Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Project
– Data-driven analysis of democratic backsliding and autocratic transitions
→ https://www.v-dem.net
International IDEA (Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance)
– Comparative studies on democratic collapse and recovery
→ https://www.idea.int



"If American democracy is saved, it will be saved internally…or not at all."
100%, Jack.
Excellent information and resources to help us understand what the ICC and UN can do. You're right: The documentation that the ICC and UN provide documents the illegal actions of this corrupt administration. It's up to us to keep fighting and protesting.