These are indeed interesting times. Have you ever seen a time of contradiction as blatant as this? People willing to go to war and sacrifice their lives over 'democracy', yet denouncing the very result of democracy after that.

Or people using the excuse of democratic right for anything they do, yet quiver when their enemies use precisely this term in condoning actions detrimental to their interest.

We have never been as confused as this over this explosive word, What exactly is democracy? Is democracy and the free market synonymous? Are democracy and human rights different sides of the same coin? What if democracy itself becomes threatening to these values which the Western world and many others hold true?

Democracy, as defined by the Greeks who basically invented this word, means 'the rule ( kracy ) of the common people ( demos )'.

We can categorise simply, democracy into three groups: direct democracy, whereby people can directly vote on government decisions, such as in the case of a referendum or in the ancient Greek city-states; representative democracy, whereby elected representatives represent their voters in a legislative body and is the most common form of government in our world today; and liberal democracy whereby the elected representatives are bound by checks and balances like the rule of law and the separation of powers (as opposed to 'illiberal' democracy like Malaysia and Singapore where the elected government are not bound tightly by these).

And now, why do I say that this very controversial and much-fought over word has a very muddled and elusive meaning? Remember, even despotic Communist countries had the word 'democratic' in their official names, like the Democratic Republic of Kampuchea, or the People`s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea). Even Adolf Hitler championed the people as part of democracy, and no matter what we can say, he did come to power in the context of a true and liberal democratic system. And now, the only superpower left in the world, the United States of America has put this word forth as a reason (or excuse) and as a banner to 'liberate' people from different parts of the world through many means such as sanctions and wars.

Iraq war

Isn't it interesting how the Iraq war started as a war to stop Saddam Hussein from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, but has become a war of liberation and for the democratisation of Iraq? All these despite the fact that the US itself admitted not having found any such weapons. All these despite the fact that thousands have died and many thousands more will perish in this uprooting and upheaval of Iraqi society as the very result of this 'war for democracy'.

But wait a minute, doesn`t the word 'democracy' mean rule by the common people? So did the common Iraqi people want this war in the first place? And why is the US so jittery when the people themself voted in religious parties and therefore cautioned their 'threat to democracy'?

How about blatantly ignoring the Palestinian people's democratically-elected government by withholding aid and taxes (paid by the Palestinian people, thank you) due to the new Hamas-led government?

We accept that there cannot be 'true' democracy, i e anybody can run the country, or there will be chaos. A representative democracy are in its essence elite, for a small group of people elected to run the country.

Democracy is merely a fair and equitable way of reflecting the common people's voices in running the affairs of the state, But, can it become a reason for crusade, such as the 'wars for democracy and against terrorism' that have come to characterise the start of the 21st century? As Micheal Moore put it succinctly, you can't wage war for or against a noun.

Even then, can this very basic democratic right of elections be ignored if the very results of it is detrimental to your interest? Having failed in their search for weapons of mass destruction, the above-said powers have used the word 'democracy' as a tool for mass delusion. It has been basically reduced to words like 'righteous', 'Christian' or 'Islamic', 'the people' and so on, only as a tool for political persuasion and totally devoid of its real meaning.

Gone to the dogs

Democracy as a word with meaning in itself has gone to the dogs, thanks to our 'defenders of democracy'.

Basically, not many are really interested in the welfare of the common people, much less rule by them. The truth is, rule of any country has been by the elite, whether business or political. Even in the ancient Greek cities, elections were confined to the land-owning elite. In Communist countries, despite abusing the words 'people', 'democratic' etc, were of course despotic and led by a small group of elite people.

In the United States of America, an average Joe from Smalltown, USA might technically be eligible to run for President, the reality is totally different if you care to speak to any average Joe. Even a white President was opposed merely because of his Catholic faith (John F Kennedy), for Catholics were barred from the US Protestant elite at that time.

There is no real rule of the common people anywhere in the world today. Indeed, democracy is merely a tool to use to delude the common people into supporting these elites to ensure that their rule is perpetual.

However, even though democracy is just a mirage and a dream, doesn't mean that it's not a beautiful dream worth pursuing. And I don't mean waging wars and putting the lives of innocents in danger to force democracy, but to help build an environment favourable to democracy by giving out more education scholarships to foreign countries, more respect for and more communication with people from different faiths and ethnicities, more aid for infrastucture, and so on. You don't exactly win over a people to your cause by bombing their country, no matter how much they hate their ruling despot.

As such, we shouldn't delude ourselves over 'democracy'. It is merely a system of governance. People`s lives need not be sacrificed, and certainly the elite interests shouldn't overrule the real aspirations of the people.

If an administration thought of as 'crazy' by the West comes to power through democratic means, so be it. Deal with it as a representative of the people through a system you championed in the first place.

If we care enough to dream and to fight for this dream, real democracy would mean what it actually is; a real reflection of our voices, not just 'certain' voices within the limits of the tolerance of the elite.

Raymond Woo is a Malaysian currently studying law at Japan's Osaka University.