Politics & Power Quote by Mikhail Saakashvili

A blunt admission masquerading as a complaint, Saakashvili's line is really about power: who gets to certify "democracy", and by what authority. Coming from a post-Soviet reformer who spent years courting Western institutions while battling domestic polarization and Russian pressure, the phrase "any sort of democratic test" lands like a rebuke to the global order that loves democracy in theory but audits it opportunistically.

The intent is twofold. On the surface, it argues for standards: clear, consistent criteria that apply to everyone, not just convenient enemies. Underneath, it indicts the arbitrariness of international legitimacy. Countries are praised as democratic partners until they become awkward; others are condemned as authoritarian threats until they're useful. Saakashvili is naming the quiet reality that "democracy" often functions less as a measurable status than as a diplomatic adjective.

The subtext is also self-protective. If there's no agreed test, then condemnation of a leader's tactics can be framed as political rather than principled. That's particularly pointed for Saakashvili, whose tenure in Georgia mixed genuine anti-corruption reforms with accusations of heavy-handed policing and power consolidation. The quote asks the listener to scrutinize the referee, not just the game.

What makes it work rhetorically is the careful vagueness: "we" implicates the West, international bodies, and aspiring democracies alike. It's an invitation and a dare - to build standards that could constrain allies as much as adversaries, and to admit how rarely anyone is willing to.