This interview with journalist, organiser, and researcher, Nidžara Ahmetašević explores the disillusionment with liberal democracy, particularly from the perspective of post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina. Reflecting on three decades of reporting on human rights, migration, and democratisation, Ahmetašević critiques the imposition of liberal democratic frameworks by international actors, highlighting the disconnect between democratic ideals and lived realities in peripheral contexts. She challenges the European Union’s self-image as a normative actor, arguing that its securitisation of borders, erosion of media freedoms, and complicity in global violence betray its stated values. Through a powerful reflection on the limits of human rights discourse, the erosion of media freedoms, and the commodification of democracy through capitalism, she calls for a radical rethinking of democracy from the ground up—one rooted in everyday participation and local agency. Her analysis underscores the urgency of reclaiming democracy as a collective, decolonial, and post-capitalist project.