The Forbidden Attraction of the Enlightened Despot

Abstract

The Forbidden Attraction of the Enlightened Despot
In the political rhetoric of the West democracy is a prominent goal in development policies. However, many of the countries receiving the most development aid are far from democratic. We ask here why it is the case that the West time and again supports and underpins autocratic leaders and regimes in the developing world. One hypothesis is that there is a strong mechanism of wishful thinking at work. Western leaders seem to look for what they judge to be “enlightened” leaders in third world countries, perhaps having in mind that the “enlightened despots” of their own history brought about, if not democracy, at least order and development. The focus in the mainstream development discourse – such as the Millennium Goals – on “output” as a measure of development, with no mention of gains in democracy and human rights, is another possible explanation. Examining views expressed by Western leaders and academics about two autocratic leaders, Paul Kagame of Rwanda and the late Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia, it is shown that they indeed are projected as “enlightened”, and that their democratic deficit is mostly excused, when they are perceived to deliver on other developmental goals.