Democracy across the world is only on paper and billboards

Protesters during a demonstration condemning the US attack on Venezuela and the seizure of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, in Manila, on January 5, 2026. [AFP]

Democracy sells beautifully on posters and speeches: “Freedom. Human rights. Rule of law.” But lift the curtain in Washington, London, Paris, Beijing, Moscow, Canberra, and the illusion falls apart. It’s a quest for more power and influence that rules and not the principle.

As democracy and human rights hit a diminuendo globally, America leads the slide while others follow. It markets itself as democracy’s defender, yet its global conduct contradicts the sermon. Call it preaching water and drinking wine.

Start with South Africa. For decades, the West supported apartheid. The sage of the freedom struggle, Nelson Mandela, was incarcerated for 27 years while the West watched. The same governments are fond of lecturing the world, especially Africa, on human rights.

Libya followed. Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed in cold blood by the West. Was this done for the safeguard of democracy and human rights? No. The West termed the intervention “responsibility to protect”. Today, Libya is a pale shadow of her former self. Like him or loathe him, Gaddafi understood the aspirations of his people.

Venezuela lays bare the double standards of international justice. After a US military operation, former President Nicolás Maduro was hauled to New York to face charges. Yet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, despite an ICC warrant, has repeatedly addressed Congress to standing ovations.

Such contradictions undermine Washington’s narrative of democracy. Meanwhile, Trump’s renewed pressure on Cuba reverses the diplomatic thaw initiated by Obama and reinforces the enduring shadow of the 1823 Monroe Doctrine. No wonder, he floated annexing Canada, the world’s second-largest state, as a 51st State, then eyed Greenland? Only European pushback stopped his neo-imperial adventure.

At home, Trump slams the press as “fake news” and chokes the truth. That’s censorship, not freedom. Meanwhile, US cities dim as ICE detains migrants indefinitely; some die, others rot in solitary. No democracy normalises that cruelty.

Where’s the respect for free speech when social media commentators, Cenk Uygur and Candace Owens, are barred from the UK and Australia for criticising Israel’s conduct in Gaza? If democracy allows freedom of association and dissent, why the double standard?

The contradiction sharpens overseas. Washington backs Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy with no press freedom. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered Jamal Khashoggi’s murder in Istanbul’s Saudi consulate. Trump shrugged it off: “Khashoggi was hated”. If democracy and human rights are universal, why do they halt at Riyadh’s frontier?

When the ICC sought arrest warrants for Netanyahu and ex-defence minister Yoav Gallant over Gaza, Trump sanctioned the court. Shockingly, in 2024, US Senator Lindsey Graham reportedly told suspended ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan that the court exists for Africans and Vladimir Putin, not the US or Israel. What a travesty for justice and democratic norms? 

On Gaza carnage, US weapons, cleared by Congress, are used by Israel to hit schools, hospitals, refugee camps and aid convoys: Civilians - women, children, and the elderly. The US and Israel’s intelligence through the FBI and Mossad can locate and strike “enemies” with precision, as they did to Hezbollah commanders, Yemen’s cabinet, Hamas figures and Iran’s top brass. One wonders why they failed to use a similar capability to spare civilians in Gaza-women, children, and the elderly.  

Where’s respect for democracy and human rights when Palestinians face reported abuse in Israeli prisons, as captured by the New York Times recently? Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and Netanyahu stand accused of disregarding justice and human dignity, mocking protesters while restricting aid and water to suffering civilians in Gaza and Lebanon.

In Europe, France lectures the world on liberty yet practices selective democracy abroad. In Francophone Africa, Paris props up autocrats like Chad’s Déby dynasty, stalls reform and shields favoured elites.

Democracy and respect for human rights have gone haywire. Democracy and human rights are joined at the hip. Without democratic norms, the rule of law, truth, justice, and accountability rot.

Mr Nyaringo is a Kenyan public affairs commentator and governance advocate in Washington, US