Democracy is not for everyone

Democracy is definitely not for everyone, but despite this, it is unanimously recognized as the best form of
government in the contemporary world. In fact, several countries have struggled for years to achieve a
democratic system because no political system can meet the needs of citizens, guarantee minority rights and
treat everyone equally better than democracy. Democracy is often described as the most suitable form of
government for all states and most people affirm that it should be exported everywhere to achieve world
peace. Over the years, there have been several phases of the "democratization" phenomenon, and with the
third phase, democracy stopped being a predominantly Western phenomenon and became global. Although
this may seem a desirable situation, it is utopian to think that democracy can be compatible with all by
religions, economies, traditions, and cultures that may be incompatible with democratic principles.

When dealing with this issue, the first reference is to the Arab world, and in fact the question is often asked:
is the Arab world compatible with democracy? Definitely not, and the lack of even a democratic regime in
this area of the world is a fundamental exception to the process of globalization of democracy. The countries
of the Arab world are ruled by military dictatorships and more or less absolute monarchies. Although the so-
called "Arab Spring" gave hope to the supporters of democratic regimes for possible change, these hopes
have not been realized as nowadays Syria and Iraq are considered "failed states," i.e., states traversed by civil
wars and deep divisions, Egypt is under a military regime, and Libya is in anarchy. One of the main reasons
is the Islamic religion according to which the state and religion cannot be separated. Another reason is the
economy, as it is not free and the market is not open and competitive as in the West.
Since democracy is not something universally compatible, the question also arises whether democracy can be
exported. The answer that follows is no, it cannot be exported to a country that has never evolved in the
direction of what are the prerequisites and basic principles for the establishment of a stable democratic
regime. The case of Afghanistan is an example of this, since it is a country that has always had a society with
great ethnic, linguistic and religious differences, the government has fallen into the hands of the Taliban with
great ease. Another example would be the experience of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which shows that
prosperity and democracy cannot simply be exported with weapons.

In conclusion, therefore, democracy is not for everyone and consequently not an exportable commodity, with
reference to Afghanistan and Iraq, because democracy is not only a set of rules but more importantly a
mental and cultural disposition, in that the emergence and stability of a democratic government is highly
dependent on a number of prerequisites that are fundamental to the optimal development and maintenance of
democracy.