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Sri Lanka navy JournaL 72
The arbitrary exportation of a Western brand of democracy is evinced by Keane in
quoting Richard Rorty’s comment on the launch of the War on Terror , wherein Rorty
17
elucidates that “there is much still to be achieved… but basically the West is on the right
path. I don’t believe it has much to learn from other cultures. We should aim to expand, to
westernize the planet.” Rorty’s conception of this Western brand of democracy was his-
18
torically reflected through the imposition of economic sanctions on Cuba by, a ‘champion
of democracy’, the United States in an attempt to cripple the Cuban populace in riposte
to Cuba’s rejection to the imposition of a Western brand of democracy, which was deter-
mined as not being in the best interest of the Cuban populace. On the flipside, Keane
19
acknowledges the notion “that democracy is a geographically specific and time-bound
ideal” , thereby challenging Rorty’s campaign for global westernization.
20
Democracies are founded upon the aforementioned elements, nonetheless the appear-
ance a democratic political system is shaped by a diverse array of factors including culture.
Consequently, values and principles like justice differ betwixt democratic political sys-
tems, owing to cultural diversity as elucidated through the doctrine of cultural relativism .
21
In such context, to exercise a uniform brand of justice, which is incongruous to the notion
of justice naturally existent in a particular State would only serve to inhibit the protection
and promotion of the principle of justice pertinent to such sovereign State.
The superimposition of this ethnocentrically fuelled Western brand of democracy is
felt by a multitude of States, including Sri Lanka and evident in light of the call for jus-
tice against alleged perpetrators of war crimes during the last stages of the humanitarian
conflict between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the separatist terrorist faction – the
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. Those ambassadors arbitrarily propagating the estab-
lishment of hybrid tribunals for the trial of such alleged perpetrators in Sri Lanka do
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so with the constructs of western democracy in hindsight.Eric Draitser reinforces the
reality of the sprouting of faux democracies, resultant of the arbitrary exportation of a

17 “In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Bush administration advanced a War on Terror to
justify security policies at home and military intervention abroad, exemplified by continuing conflicts in Iraq and Af-
ghanistan.” Seth C Lewis and Stephen D Reese, ‘What is the War on Terror? Framing Through the Eyes of Journalists’
(2009) 86 (1) J&MC Quarterly 85
18 John Keane, ‘Humble Democracy? On the Need for New Thinking about an Aging Ideal’ (John Keane, 25 February
2005) <http://www.johnkeane.net/wp-content/uploads/2005/02/whydemocracy.pdf> accessed 19 May 2019
19 See Amnesty International, The US Embargo Against Cuba: Its Impact in Economic and Social Rights (Amnesty
International Publication 2009)
20 Keane (n 3) 842
21 See Elizabeth M Zechenter, ‘In the Name of Culture: Cultural Relativism and the Abuse of the Individual’ (1997) 53
(3) Journal of Anthropological Research
22 “The UN has found evidence “strongly indicating” that war crimes were committed in Sri Lanka in the closing
phases of its civil war, and called for the establishment of a special “hybrid” international court to investigate individuals
responsible for the worst atrocities.” Jason Burke and Amantha Perera, ‘UN Calls for Sri Lanka War Crimes Court to
Investigate Atrocities’ (The Guardian, 16 September 2015) <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/16/un-seeks-
special-court-to-investigate-sri-lanka-war-atrocities> accessed 11 May 2019