I taught at a DOD think tank for a while that used to bring in foreign military officers as students, including from Myanmar. At the time the genocide was underway but not fully known/understood, and the Obama admin was wagering on engagement and opening 1/2

One of these officers from Myanmar looked at me and said “We are democratic. We had an election.” I said “What about the Rohingya? Did they vote?” He said, “They’re not people.” It was so cold and earnest and made me doubt what we were doing even then, before the nightmare

It was also the first time it was ever thrown in my face that electoral democracy in Asia is not necessarily a way of solving problems, but can actually be used to inflame them or rationalise them.