Former UK foreign secretary’s deep thoughts David Miliband’s jumping off point is Russia’s war in Ukraine, but his Age of Impunity is deeper and more insidious. First, former UK foreign secretary Miliband in The New York Times: The war’s impact goes far beyond the region. It has driven up food and energy prices worldwide, contributing to the record 349 million people experiencing food insecurity and to famine-like conditions in East Africa. The conduct of the war has flouted the most basic international laws and conventions, posing a fundamental threat to the global order. As such, it offers a textbook example of the Age of Impunity. Impunity is the exercise of power without accountability, which becomes, in starkest form, the commission of crimes without punishment. In Ukraine this goes beyond the original invasion. It has included repeated violations of international humanitarian law, which is supposed to establish clear protections for civilians, aid workers and civilian infrastructure in conflict zones every day. The danger is that few people will ever face consequences for these crimes. It’s a start. There exists today a culture of impunity, Miliband laments. The “Atlas of Impunity” just published by the Eurasia Group and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs scores all 197 countries on a set of abuses of power: abuse of human rights, unaccountable governance, conflict and violence, economic exploitation and environmental degradation. Okay, then what? Getting closer: It’s not just war zones. Impunity is a helpful lens through which to understand the global drift to polycrisis, from climate change to…