For much of the post-war era, the United States has cloaked its foreign policy in the rhetoric of liberty, democracy, and human rights. Yet, the historical record points to something more of less flattering: a practice of regime change, pursued whenever a government’s orientation diverged from Washington’s strategic or economic preferences.

From the overthrow of Iran’s Mohammad Mossadegh in 1953 to the ousting of Salvador Allende in Chile in 1973, from the invasion of Iraq to the dismemberment of Libya, the pattern is unmistakable. The United States has been far from being the champion of democracy.

This is not a defence of authoritarian regimes or despotic rulers. The consequences of US interventions have often been destabilising and insensitive to the local population. The coup in Tehran sowed the seeds for the Islamic Revolution of 1979.

The removal of Saddam Hussein fractured Iraq, unleashing sectarian violence and giving rise to the Islamic State. Libya, once a functioning state, was reduced to an arena of militias and external patrons. Venezuela remains trapped in a spiral of sanctions and polarisation.

Even where Washington has not deployed troops, its repertoire has included covert funding of opposition groups, the weaponisation of media, crippling sanctions, and the legitimisation of coups with high-minded rhetoric. The inconsistency is glaring.

The scale of American interventions shows that this is no aberration. Between 1991 and 2022 alone, the US mounted over 250 military interventions worldwide, many aimed at reshaping political orders. In its broader history, it has been involved in nearly 400 foreign interventions, more than a quarter occurring after the Cold War. Far from receding, regime change has become a structural reflex of American power.

South Asia offers recent illustrations. The sudden political transition in Bangladesh unfolded at India’s doorstep, in a country of deep strategic value to New Delhi. Pakistan’s hand in shaping that outcome was evident, seemingly with American acquiescence. The Pahalgam incident further highlighted how emboldened Islamabad has become once it........

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