Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bledar Kurti
(U.S. Department of State Alumnus)
In recent days, social media has been flooded with posts quoting one of the most famous passages from the United States Declaration of Independence, attempting to draw a direct parallel between its language and the protests against the government in Albania. This interpretation is not only historically and legally incorrect, but also dangerous to the country’s democratic culture and institutional stability.
I sincerely hope that those circulating this passage are doing so out of a profound misunderstanding of the history, purpose, and context of the Declaration of Independence of 1776. For clarity, here is the complete passage, often quoted selectively and entirely out of context—not only with respect to Albania today, but to virtually every democratic state in the modern world:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government.”
To quote and disseminate only the phrase “it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it” as a justification for insurrection—particularly at a time when the public has also been exposed to provocative symbols such as a coffin carried through the main boulevard or placards depicting flamingos holding weapons—without explaining the circumstances in which those words were written, is like reading the last chapter of a book without understanding the story that came before it.
The Declaration of Independence is not a handbook for overthrowing democratically elected governments. It is the founding document through which thirteen American colonies declared their separation from the British Empire in 1776. Those colonists had no political representation in the British Parliament, no right to vote for the government that ruled them, no constitution of their own, no constitutional court, no free elections through which they could change their rulers, and none of the democratic institutions that exist today in a constitutional parliamentary republic.
Albania in 2026 is not America in 1776.
The Republic of Albania is a democratic state built upon periodic elections, political pluralism, the separation of powers, constitutional review, an independent judiciary, autonomous institutions, and the constitutional right of citizens to assemble and protest peacefully.
Today’s Albania belongs to all of us. The Republic we have today is one that we have built together through decades of work and sacrifice, irrespective of political affiliation. Anyone who disagrees with the government has every right to criticize it, oppose it, protest against it, and above all, replace it through the ballot box.
That is the fundamental distinction between a revolution against a colonial monarchy and a constitutional democracy.
The Constitution of the Republic of Albania recognizes the sovereignty of the people. Article 2, paragraph 1 explicitly provides that “Sovereignty in the Republic of Albania belongs to the people.” However, the Constitution also makes clear that this sovereignty is exercised within the constitutional order. It equally guarantees the right to peaceful assembly and political organization, thereby providing lawful avenues for citizens to express dissatisfaction. Protest is therefore a constitutional right; calls for the violent overthrow of state institutions are an entirely different matter.
Albanian criminal legislation likewise protects the constitutional order and democratic institutions. The Criminal Code establishes criminal offenses relating to attacks against the constitutional order, calls for the use of force against the constitutional system, and violent acts directed against state institutions. These provisions do not exist to protect any particular government; they exist to protect the Republic itself, its Constitution, and democratic stability, regardless of who happens to hold political power.
This is precisely why it is irresponsible for public figures, analysts, journalists, or commentators to invoke an eighteenth-century revolutionary document as though it were directly applicable to contemporary Albania. Such comparisons do not enrich democratic debate. On the contrary, they are deeply destructive: they fuel polarization, encourage radicalization, and foster the dangerous misconception that political change should occur outside democratic institutions.
Democracies do not survive because citizens agree with every government. They survive because citizens agree on the constitutional rules by which governments are changed.
If every political faction were to invoke the Declaration of Independence each time it lost an election or disagreed with a parliamentary majority, we would ultimately undermine the very foundations of our Republic. No democracy can endure if every minority claims a revolutionary right whenever it fails to secure majority support.
American history should not be misappropriated to legitimize narratives that encourage resistance to the constitutional order. American patriotism emerged from the absence of democracy; Albanian patriotism should be expressed by protecting the democracy we have painstakingly built through immense effort and sacrifice.
Criticize the government. Protest. Organize. Vote.
That is the constitutional path.
But do not use the founding texts of an eighteenth-century revolution to justify ideas that may reasonably be interpreted as calls to overthrow the institutions of a democratic Republic—one that is a member of NATO and on the threshold of membership in the European Union.
There is a fundamental difference between revolution and constitutional democracy. Ignoring that distinction is not merely a historical error; it poses a destructive and potentially irreversible threat to the democratic order that safeguards our freedoms.
If these claims stem from ignorance, stop spreading historical and legal inaccuracies. Respect the intellectual responsibility owed to truth.
If, however, they are being advanced deliberately, then stop encouraging this reckless narrative against the constitutional order of the Republic of Albania.
© 2026 Argumentum
