Sir, – We are repeatedly told by the US and Israel that “democracy” is the superior political system. Yet it is difficult not to feel a certain cynicism when we look at how two of the world’s most vocal democracies behave.
If the actions of the United States in Venezuela, or of Israel in Gaza, are representative of democratic leadership, then the claim to moral authority rings hollow.
In both cases, the rhetoric of freedom and rights sits uneasily beside the reality of violence and large-scale civilian suffering.
Equally troubling is what is not happening. Where are the large, sustained mass protests in the United States one might expect from a rights-based democracy?
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And what explains the silence – or acquiescence – of the “liberal majority” in Israel, a country that describes itself as sharing “democratic values” with the West?
And where is the outrage expressed by Europe? Hiding away in fear? Should Europe not be shouting “foul” more loudly than we do?
I strongly support rules-based democracy. But such a system depends on states being willing to submit themselves to the same rules they ask others to respect.
How can any of us credibly defend the conduct of the US or Israel when both refuse to sign up to, or comply with, core international norms?
Until democracies are willing to be bound by rules rather than merely invoke them, their claims to moral and political superiority will continue to ring hollow. – Yours, etc,
JOHN SUTTLE,
Dublin 3
