The recent interview by Ibrahim Traoré, president of Burkina Faso, has caused widespread debate after going viral across global media platforms. Headlines, particularly from mainstream outlets, quickly framed his remarks as a wholesale rejection of democracy, some even suggesting an intention to entrench permanent military rule.
But this interpretation, while sensational, is deeply misleading. It strips Traoré’s statements of their political, historical, and material context that is essential to understanding both his words and the broader trajectory of the Sahel region.
Democracy, but which democracy?
The remarks emerged not from an abstract discussion, but from a grounded conversation about security, sovereignty, and survival. For nearly half an hour, the interview focused on the ongoing insurgencies in the Sahel, particularly the threat posed by jihadist groups linked to al Qaeda and the broader crisis of state stability.
It was only when Traoré was asked about elections, specifically whether a newly adopted revolutionary charter could allow him to extend his rule, that the issue of democracy arose.
His response; elections, he argued, were not the immediate concern. Burkina Faso faces existential challenges, and the priority is confronting those threats and rebuilding the state. It is within this framework that his now widely quoted statement, “people need to forget about democracy” must be understood.
Saying, “we must tell the truth. Democracy is not for us, this kind of democracy that these people show us. That’s not what interests us.”
When Traoré states that “democracy is not for us,” he is not speaking in a vacuum. His critique is directed at a specific model; Western liberal democracy was historically exported to Africa through intervention, coercion, and conditional aid.
He gave the example of Libya, whose destruction following the NATO intervention in Libya remains as an example across the continent. For Traoré, Libya represents a warning; a state that, whatever its internal contradictions, was dismantled in the name of “democracy”, leaving behind chaos, displacement, and humanitarian catastrophe.
“We came to completely change the way things work, but above all to change mindsets so that people open their eyes, see the world, and so that we never fall into that trap again. People are here; democracy is slavery. There is no democracy in this world. They pretend there is. They do as they please. And to establish it, they kill. Democracy that kills. We do not want democracy. May God spare us from that kind of democracy. We are focused on our conquest, on our rebuilding, and on the revolution. It is the only path to development.”
Thus, when he says “democracy kills,” it can also be interpreted that he is condemning a geopolitical process whereby “democracy” becomes a justification for regime change, foreign domination, and violent restructuring. These narratives have been used recently in both Venezuela and Iran, where actions against leaders are framed as justified interventions.
Traoré’s position must be situated within the crisis of sovereignty in the Sahel. Countries like Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso have experienced repeated cycles of instability, foreign military presence, and economic dependency.
The rise of military-led governments in the region, notwithstanding the challenges, has been tied to a popular rejection of neocolonial arrangements, particularly those associated with former colonial powers like France.
This is the political terrain from which Traoré speaks. His insistence on “revolution,” “rebuilding,” and “changing mindsets” reflects an attempt, however contested, to break from a model of governance seen as externally imposed and internally hollow.
Misreading the Sahel
Many liberal democratic commentators have approached Traoré’s statements through a narrow, textbook definition of democracy. This framework struggles to account for situations where the state itself is under threat, where territorial control is fragmented, and where external actors play a decisive role in shaping internal politics.
The result is a recurring pattern of misinterpretation, complex political statements are reduced to authoritarian impulses, and debates about sovereignty are dismissed as anti-democratic rhetoric.
Interestingly, similar questions arise elsewhere. In Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has postponed elections, arguing that national survival in the face of war must take precedence.
While the contexts are vastly different, the underlying principle is comparable, the sequencing of political processes in times of crisis. But global reactions to these decisions are far from consistent.
None of this is to suggest that the Sahel’s current trajectory is without challenges. The region faces immense challenges; political, economic, and social. However, reducing Traoré’s position to a rejection of democracy misses the point entirely. What is at stake is not simply “democracy versus authoritarianism”, but a deeper struggle over sovereignty, development, and the right of societies to define their own political paths.
Whether one agrees with his conclusions or not, the historical realities shaping the Sahel must be taken into context.
The post Ibrahim Traoré: We do not want a democracy that kills appeared first on Peoples Dispatch.
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