We think the whole world wants western-style democracy, but this is what we put in the shop window for them to see

Any trader knows that he has to attract his customers. It doesn’t matter how good the items on offer inside the shop, if people don’t step through the door they won’t buy. The shop window has to represent the best you have to offer.

Of course, politicians are above such commercial considerations. Leaders like Bush and Blair know without a shadow of doubt that western democracy is so wonderful that citizens and nations throughout the world would be grateful to have it thrust upon them. Unfortunately, some people don’t know much about western democracy, except what their dictators have told them. And what they see in the shop window.

They see western democracies divided over the justification for war against the regime in Iraq. They see a war, based on the elimination of (apparently) non-existent weapons of mass destruction, in which civilian casualties outnumber military casualties. They see a continuing occupation by a nation whose beliefs are alien to the cultural and religious practices of the Iraqi people liberated from tyranny.

At the front of the shop window is the President of the most powerful nation on earth, comforting his people that life in Iraq is improving day by day. Judged against the known facts Bush sounds just like any other dictator: civilian deaths continue; military deaths continue; Jordanian Embassy bombed; oil pipe line bombed; water supply bombed; UN building bombed; etc., etc. If you were starving in Baghdad would you take $40 a week to translate for this man? He might be powerful, but he couldn’t protect the dozen or so translators murdered in the last month for collaborating with the occupiers.

Standing shoulder to shoulder with Bush is another pillar of western democracy, Mr Blair, who has no regrets or doubts about the war. When challenged on weapons of mass destruction he claims that history will be the judge. Ah, so that is the basis for democracy: not the elected representatives of the people answering to their electorate but spinning tales for the history books. Mr Blair does not trust the democratic system to tell us whether the Intelligence Services misled the Government or whether the Government misled the people. (There is no third possibility: not only was Saddam not an international threat; he was incapable of defending his country.) Presumably, the Hutton enquiry will not establish who was responsible for the inaccurate dossiers (it is not the purpose of the enquiry) and the Government will declare itself thus exonerated.

Look behind these two mannequins and you might see some less conspicuous things on offer. If you are a dictator guilty of genocide, mass murder, war crimes, terrorism, etc. you can expect the newly formed International Criminal Court to bring you to justice. Except, of course, that it tends not to happen. Bin Laden and Saddam are free to live their lives of quiet reflection and enjoyment, or to continue their paths of murder and mayhem, according to whim; Idi Amin has just died peacefully of old age after his exile in Saudi Arabia; Taylor will be given asylum in exchange for relinquishing power in Liberia; Gaddafi agrees for the people of Libya to pay the fine for the Lockerbie bombing and looks forward to prosperous relations with western democracies.

Not that we are in total agreement about such matters. France, having already agreed a separate deal with Libya, might veto the lifting of UN sanctions now proposed by Britain in the hope of a bigger settlement for her citizens; and the US seems unlikely to lift its own sanctions for anything less than a full-scale apology. Perhaps History will judge this to be a united democratic front.

Talking of united fronts, the US plea for the world to unite to defeat terrorism begins to sound hollow when measured against her reaction to the formation of the International Criminal Court. Systematically, and using her military, economical and political power, the US government is persuading small nations to sign an impunity agreement. In exchange for the US continuing to look favourably on their need for protection and sustenance they will agree not to hand over US nationals to the ICC. So far 43 countries have found the offer irresistible. Also on display, under the noses of Bush and Blair, are domestic and street violence, drug and alcohol abuse, obesity, and a dwindling appreciation of spiritual values. Not a pretty sight, this democracy shop window.

This is not an attack against western democracy. So far, the democratic economy has proved to be more robust than any other. Art, literature, science, medical care, have all flourished. Achievements in these fields could fill many shop windows, although we should remember that democracy does not hold a monopoly. But if others are not tempted by what they see in the shop, they are likely to resist house calls from the shop salesmen.

No, this is a plea, not an attack. Would someone just like to get rid of the dummies we have in the shop window?

August 20, 2003