This chapter examines how great powers consistently resist the application of international law when invoked by weaker states, particularly when it challenges their geopolitical interests or those of their allies. Through asymmetrical dependencies, hegemonic states influence smaller allies to obstruct legal processes. The Cyprus case exemplifies these dynamics: Greece’s efforts at the United Nations to promote Cyprus’s right to self-determination faced strong opposition from NATO allies, while traditionally “hostile” states supported it. The United States and the United Kingdom played leading roles in suppressing the issue to protect strategic priorities, especially NATO cohesion and control over Cyprus. Ultimately, Makarios’s shift toward accepting independence marked a coerced compromise under international pressure.