Biden’s democracy summit falls flat
The growth of populist authoritarianism in recent years meant US president Joe Biden’s plans for a global democracy summit seemed like a good idea when he pitched it on the campaign trail last year, says Mohamed Zeeshan in The Diplomat. But last week’s virtual gathering of representatives from 111 governments – excluding China, Russia and most other autocracies – was ultimately a disappointment.
The summit could hardly have been “more dramatically timed”, says Edward Luce in the Financial Times. It coincided with a “formidable Russian military build-up on Ukraine’s eastern border and in the wake of escalating Chinese military activity around the island of Taiwan”. Yet the pitfalls still got more attention. These are allegations of hypocrisy, given US “support for strongmen regimes”; the “self-defeating effect” of talking rather than setting an example (just 7% of 18- to 29-year-olds in the US describe America as a healthy democracy); the “risk that depicting today’s global fault line as democracy-versus authoritarianism will push autocracies closer together”, making it harder to cooperate on common issues such as climate change; and finally, the risk that America’s values clash with its interests, “leaving both diminished”.
Even the guest list was controversial, says CNN. Invitees included nations with “spotty records on democracy, the rule of law and human rights, including the Philippines, Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil and Turkey”. There were only four South Asian invitees, although many countries there have “long been hoping for deeper ties with countries that would help counterbalance Beijing’s influence”, says Zasheen. The “snub” is sure to cause resentment. The test will be if it produces “concrete actions”, Michael Abramowitz of Freedom House tells Luce. My “strong preference would be for America to show what it can do in the real world”.