Western democrats are reluctant to read history. The same mistake is made over and over again. Tito, Gaddafi, Hussein, Assad, et al were not promoters of democracy but they did in their way run their countries quite well. Western democratic opposition to their regimes has resulted in bloodshed and misery. In my opinion a price not worth paying.
On Sunday there was a presidential election in Belarus, won by the incumbent (since 1995) Alexander Lukashenko. When I was in Belarus last November to observe their parliamentary elections the OECD was highly critical and said they were not free and fair. I imagine it was the same last Sunday. The Western press is having a great time interviewing opposition leaders and predicting the downfall of Lukashenko. I don’t think Belarus is ready for democracy. Lukashenko plays off the EU against Russia with some success. A change of government would be for a pro-western regime that would destabilise the country. Ukraine and Georgia have transitioned to democracy but both are bedevilled by Russian enclaves, I mean invasions.
I wish we could sometimes learn from history. We could not have won World War II without Stalin.