US President-elect Donald Trump plans to impose devastating sanctions against the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague immediately after taking office, Israel Hayom newspaper reported citing informed sources.
The sources claimed the “executive orders could be unveiled as soon as January 21”, just one day after Trump’s inauguration and “will target both individual ICC personnel, including judges and prosecutors, and the institution as a whole.”
“The administration intends to classify the ICC as an organisation threatening US interests, employing designation procedures similar to those used by the State Department for terrorist organisations globally. This designation will trigger severe restrictions on anyone involved with the court’s operations,” it added.
The reported plans of Donald Trump to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) fit within a broader reactionary agenda aligning with the goals of authoritarian regimes like Russia and China. This move, which aims to delegitimize international accountability mechanisms, highlights the shared priorities of MAGA and authoritarian states: undermining global institutions that challenge their power.
By targeting the ICC—an institution designed to hold individuals and states accountable for crimes against humanity—Trump’s actions echo Russia’s and China’s longstanding rejection of international judicial oversight. Russia withdrew its signature from the Rome Statute in 2016, while China has refused to ratify the treaty. These regimes, along with MAGA-aligned U.S. leadership, oppose any supranational authority that could limit their sovereignty or expose their abuses.
This attack on the ICC serves multiple reactionary purposes:
Reinforcing Nationalism: Trump’s move isolates the U.S. further from global accountability, mirroring the nationalist rhetoric used to suppress class solidarity and justify state power.
Protecting Bourgeois Interests: The ICC’s focus on human rights violations threatens the ruling classes in authoritarian and reactionary states. MAGA, Russia, and China share an interest in shielding the bourgeoisie from legal consequences.
Weakening International Solidarity: By delegitimizing institutions like the ICC, MAGA contributes to the erosion of global frameworks that could unite workers against exploitation and oppression.
This development underscores the convergence of MAGA and authoritarian regimes into what we term M(ARC)GA—a reactionary alliance that prioritizes authoritarian control and the preservation of capitalist hegemony over international justice. The global proletariat must recognize and resist this bloc’s efforts to dismantle institutions that promote accountability and cooperation. Only through solidarity and revolutionary action can we counter these reactionary strategies and advance the fight for a just and equitable world.
Russia and China in no way share the goals of America. Trying to shift the blame on them is a strawman as the threats against the ICC happened under Biden.
And international law has been destroyed by the Democrats.
Yes, and while the Democratic Party under Biden has continued to erode the legitimacy of international law, this does not absolve the MAGA movement of its reactionary role in dismantling accountability mechanisms such as the ICC. From a communist perspective, both parties serve the interests of the bourgeoisie, prioritizing the preservation of U.S. imperialism over global justice.
Yes, Russia and China have distinct geopolitical ambitions, but they share a material interest with the U.S. ruling class in rejecting supranational institutions that challenge state sovereignty or expose crimes against humanity. The Trump administration’s sanctions against the ICC represent a counter-revolutionary act aligned with the broader global bourgeois strategy to suppress mechanisms that empower the proletariat through international solidarity.
And while the Democrats have contributed to this erosion, the actions of the MAGA movement reveal a more overt alignment with authoritarian tactics. MAGA, along with Russia and China, participates in a dialectical process that consolidates power in reactionary blocs, protecting bourgeois domination and suppressing proletarian struggle. Recognizing this unity of interests across seemingly opposed regimes is essential for the international working class to advance revolutionary praxis and dismantle the oppressive systems that thrive on the destruction of international law.