Today, democracy is widely accepted, almost religiously so, as the best possible form of governance. Yet, despite these widely held beliefs, it is becoming apparent that in an increasing number of instances democratic governments in developing countries have overridden some of the very rights that they are obliged to protect in manners not unlike their authoritarian predecessors. There is now growing awareness of the fact that democratically elected governments in developing countries are often guilty of violating the rights of their people. What is not as well understood is how external pressures can lead to some of these abuses. Using the Philippines as a case study, this paper illustrates how external pressures indeed can lead to situations in which a government condones the violations of certain rights. This occurs when the government is in the middle of a two stage game in which external interests and domestic interests are at odds with each other and the government is in a position in which it must favour the external interests over the domestic.