How the West weaponised democracy | Kishore Mahbubani, Michael Ignatieff, Marlène Laruelle

Illiberal democracy challenges the traditional Western binary of "free" versus "authoritarian" governance. For many nations in the Global South, the primary objective is effective governance and poverty alleviation rather than strict adherence to Western liberal models, which are often viewed with suspicion as tools for external interference. True democracy necessitates institutional checks, the rule of law, and peaceful succession to prevent majoritarian tyranny. Meanwhile, illiberalism functions as a rising ideological alternative that prioritizes national sovereignty, cultural homogeneity, and conservative values over cosmopolitan progressivism. These competing perspectives reveal a fundamental tension between universal democratic ideals and the practical, culturally specific adaptations of governance systems in Asia and beyond, suggesting that Western frameworks frequently fail to account for the complexities of global political evolution.