According to WorldAtlas, there are four criteria that make a nation a pariah state. The United States meets all four criteria. “The first category is nations that acquire, own, or utilize weapons of mass destruction with disregard for current international treaties. The second category is nations or governments that support acts of terrorism or terrorist groups. Countries that operate outside of the lines of democracy fall into the third category. Finally, the fourth category includes those countries with a known or documented history of human rights violations.”
The first category is probably the most controversial. The US was the inventor of nuclear technology and the first country to have nuclear weapons. It is also the only country to have used nuclear weapons. The tricky part is if the US has a “disregard of current international treaties.” This is tricky because, as the world’s strongest superpower, the US has dictated most of the international treaties. However, the United Nations did adopt a treaty to ban nuclear weapons. 122 nations signed the treaty, but the US refused to. I would say that’s disregarding current treaties.
The second category, supporting terrorism or terrorist groups, has a long history in the US. From the KKK to the Proud Boys, we have long tolerated, if not outright supported, terrorists. It’s part of how the US keeps its marginalized population subjugated. This country also supports terrorism through its gun policies. There has been an average of one mass shooting a day so far in 2025. 2024 averaged more than one. These are acts of terror perpetrated against US citizens. There have been over 500 terrorist acts in the US since the beginning of 2024 and nothing done to stop it.
The third criteria, operating outside the lines of democracy, should be obvious to anyone paying attention to current events. Trump is trying very hard to govern by fiat. That’s what all the executive orders are. He is ignoring Congress and the courts. All appearances show that Trump wants to be a dictator. That all adds up to be anti-democracy.
The fourth criteria is that the nation has a history of human rights violations. Again, this one is obvious. Slavery was written into the Constitution. Jim Crow lasted roughly 100 years (if it ever ended). Police still kill black people pretty regularly. Until recently, it was illegal to be gay. Now the Republican party, which is the party in charge, wants to erase trans people. The US has never had a good human rights record.
So, as I said at the beginning of this piece, the US hits all four criteria for a pariah state. What does that mean? Basically, it means we should be treated as a pariah. We should be shunned and sanctioned. We should not be allowed into the international community. That would mean the world has to stop inviting us to summits, state dinners, and negotiations. It would mean pulling diplomatic staff. It might even mean expelling the US from the UN.
From a practical standpoint, it would be very difficult to treat the US as a pariah state. America is simply too big and powerful. I understand that. It would hurt the US for sure, but it would also hurt a lot of other countries. It would allow China and Russia to exert even more power than they already do.
The thing is, the US has proven that we either can’t or won’t solve any of our problems on our own. We need a big push in the right direction and that’s not going to come domestically. Other countries need to step up before the US collapses and drags the rest of the world down with it.
