“Advances for human rights and democracy depend first and foremost on the courage and the commitment of men and women working for reform in their own countries. Progress also will require sustained and concerted efforts by the United States and fellow democracies in every region of the world. The path forward rarely will be linear. Fragile democracies can founder. Countries whose leaders are not fully committed to democracy can backslide. Those pressing for reform inevitably encounter push back from those who do not welcome change. These are sobering realities. At the same time, we believe that our work for freedom’s cause can help to create new, hopeful realities for men and women across the globe” (Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2006).
At a general level, there is a view that US Leadership and Democratic Project (LEAD)-type projects have largely been concocted with the sole intention of undermining governments the US views as undemocratic. Indeed, for political reasons, it is being peddled that the current LEAD project, even if not intentionally, would have the effect of undermining the electoral fortunes of the PPP/C. When President Ramotar said that we do not need any democratic project at this time, he was expressing this type of concern.
I have argued in a previous article that this type of project is intended to make citizens interact with the political system in a
