On Friday (14th February), External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar exposed the West’s hypocrisy regarding what it preaches and practices in the Global South. He made the remarks during the 2025 Munich Security Conference in Germany.
During his address, S Jaishankar stated, “I have to say this in all honesty- The West treated democracy as a Western characteristic and was busy encouraging non-democratic forces in the Global South.”
“It still does. I mean in many cases, I can point to some very recent ones where actually everything that you say you value at home, you don’t practice abroad,” he emphasised.
"…The West was busy encouraging non democratic forces in the global south, it still does.."
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) February 15, 2025
EAM Dr S Jaishankar at Munich Security Conference pic.twitter.com/DbxxZN8yPK
The External Affairs Minister added, “I do think the rest of the Global South will view the successes and the shortcomings and the responses of other countries. They will also ask themselves which ones of them they relate to.”
“I would argue that in many ways, India, because it has historically been an open society, one very much linked with the world, many countries of the Global South are more likely to say the Indian experience is more transposable to their societies than perhaps those of others,” he pointed out.
“I think it’s something the West should look at. Because if you do want democracy eventually to prevail, it is important the West also embraces successful models outside the West,” S Jaishankar concluded.
