Bangladesh, July 19 -- In a sharp departure from decades of diplomatic tradition, the United States has decided to drastically scale back its practice of commenting on foreign elections. According to a memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal, newly appointed Secretary of State Marco Rubio has instructed the US State Department to limit assessments of the fairness or legitimacy of elections abroad, unless there is a “clear and compelling US foreign policy interest to do so.”

This move represents a fundamental shift in how Washington projects its values on the global stage. For years-particularly under the administrations of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama-promoting democracy and transparency in governance formed the corn...