Where it breaks apart

• — Legitimacy of sanctions — Washington justifies the measure by characterizing the ICC as a 'corrupt and deeply politicized' tribunal that exceeded its mandate, while several national press outlets relay without reserve the Court's own denunciation, which views it as an attack on judicial independence.
• — Firmness of diplomatic response — Japan, whose sanctioned president is a national, opts for restraint and continued dialogue with Washington, while Turkish press relays a more frontal condemnation of the measure without linking it to its own diplomatic position.
• — Connection with Global South concerns — Bangladeshi and South African press link the sanctions to the risk they pose to smaller states that are parties to the Rome Statute, while Nigerian press reports the episode without articulating it to the continental Africa-ICC debate.