Democracies Go Right, Autocracies Go Left*

*Editor’s Note: On March 4, 2022, Russia enacted a law that criminalizes public opposition to, or independent news reporting about, the war in Ukraine. The law makes it a crime to call the war a “war” rather than a “special military operation” on social media or in a news article or broadcast. The law is understood to penalize any language that “discredits” Russia’s use of its military in Ukraine, calls for sanctions or protests Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It punishes anyone found to spread “false information” about the invasion with up to 15 years in prison.

Political scientist Roman Parma on the hypocritical appeal of American-style democracy.

At the end of March 2023, the U.S. is holding the second Summit for Democracy. As always, at the beginning of the year (and this time also ahead of this grand event), freedom ratings and democracy indices of all stripes poured out of the “leading” publications and organizations — The Economist, Transparency International, Freedom House and so on.

The bureau for democracy affairs, human rights and labor relations, or, simply put, the U.S. Department of State, prepared reports on the human rights situations in different countries of the world. No surprises there — the shortlist of countries about to receive redoubled diatribes at the end of March is well-known. It’s also clear who’s on “the front line in the battle for democracy,”** according to Joe Biden himself. In this regard, the dry, uncritical description of the political processes in Ukraine in the U.S. Department of State’s report is curious. The section “Freedom to Participate in the Political Process” states: “In May, a law allowing the government to ban political parties came into force. As of December, 12 political parties were banned due to persistent collaboration with the Russian Federation. On September 15, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal of the pro-Russia Opposition Platform – For Life political party, the only pro-Russia party represented in parliament, banning its activities in Ukraine.”

Corruption has not yet been defeated, and harsh sanctions and restrictive policies apply to a range of media outlets — however, all of that doesn’t prevent Ukraine from rising steadily in the global democracy ratings.

Unfortunately, Ukraine turned out to be yet another “profitable project” of the U.S. and its allies — succeeding Afghanistan. According to the data of a Swedish analytical center, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, today the U.S. accounts for 40% of global exports of weapons, with a noted 14% increase from 2018 to 2022. The largest German defense firm, Rheinmetall, reported record profits in 2022 and bold expectations for 2023. Profits in the name of the triumph of democracy and human rights.

The policy of introducing unlawful, unilateral sanctions also exists in the name of the triumph of democracy and human rights. For example, several days were required — when every minute counted — for a partial lift of sanctions on Syria after the devastating earthquake in February. Half the assets of the Afghanistan Reserve Fund frozen in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York — or, simply put, thievery — is also the triumph of democracy and human rights. The 251st overseas military operation since the end of the Cold War was conducted exclusively in the name of the triumph of democracy and human rights.

At the same time, the U.S. population grows less optimistic about democracy at home every year. According to data from the Pew Research Center, two out of 10 Americans are proud of the state of affairs in the country. According to the results of a Quinnipiac University poll, 67% of respondents believe that American democracy is in danger of collapse, while 48% do not exclude another storming of the Capitol building. An NPR/Ipsos poll had similar results: 64% of respondents in general agree with the statement that American democracy is in crisis and at risk of collapse.

The aggressively imposed “rule-based order” as the foundation of American-style democracy is losing its illusory appeal. Back in 2021 the Pew Research Center published the results of a poll about the external perception of the U.S. as a model of democracy. Remarkably, countries allied with the U.S. participated in the poll. According to the results, only 17% of respondents called American democracy an example to follow, while 57% noted that they don’t consider American democracy exemplary anymore; 23% responded that they had never considered it exemplary.

The year 2022 was a turning point — this March, Economist Intelligence Unit published the results of an analysis conducted by its global forecasting team: Almost 58% of the world’s population (excluding the populations of Russia and Ukraine) live in countries that are either neutral or leaning toward Russia. Moreover, there’s now a tendency for a decline in support of the Western position, despite, as we understand it, the colossal amount of resources expended on it.

In other words, an active search for threats to democracy will be conducted in places where it wouldn’t hurt to actually look for democracy.

The author is the assistant chair of the political science department at the Financial University under the government of the Russian Federation

The author’s position may not coincide with that of the editors.

**Editor’s Note: This quote, while accurately translated, could not be independently verified.