In the wake of Donald Trump’s tumultuous administration, in which various conspiracy theories have found a foothold, Joe Biden has been trying to repair the damage done to democracy since taking office. So now it is convening – today Thursday and Friday – an online Summit for Democracy, in which the new German Chancellor Olaf Solz, as well as Kyriakos Mitsotakis are participating.
However, according to the State Department, as he hinted, the goal is not only to focus on democracy in the world but also within the United States, bearing in mind the great blow that he suffered last January, after the deviations of Trump supporters who invaded the Capitol. But what new can this Synod finally bring?
Sessions like this, experts say, are more about raising problems than solving them. Eric Wetten, Professor of Geopolitics and Law at Georgetown University, does not expect any specific measures or proposals from this Summit. He sees it more as a symbolic move by the US towards the rest of the world. “Biden wants to send a message about his foreign policy priorities. “The promotion of democracy is one of them,” he said.
Regression in the realization of democratic values
For his part, James Lamont, director of the Democracy Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis, wonders whether the commitments to democracy at such a summit make any sense. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index in almost 70% of the countries in the world there is a setback in the consolidation and implementation of democratic principles.
This decline in democratic values ​​over the last decade is expected to be the subject of discussion at the Summit, which is attended by 110 countries, several private companies, as well as NGOs. However, Russia, China and Hungary are absent from the summit – because they were not even invited by the US government.
At the same time, countries such as the Philippines and the Congo, which rank at the bottom of the democracy index, are present. James Lamont comments: “There is strong criticism of the list of countries that have been invited. “I think part of the criticism is fair, but on the other hand there is never a perfect list.”
“US refuses to be taught by other countries”
And for Eric Wetten, however, the formation of the list of invited countries always involves an element of subjectivity. However, as he points out, the goal is not only for the United States to teach democratic morals and values ​​to the world, but at the same time to exemplify them from good practices recorded elsewhere. According to Eric Wetten: “The United States somehow refuses to be taught by other countries. “They want to believe that it is a beacon for other countries.”
In any case, despite the criticism, the Democracy Summit is a major change from the years of the Trump administration. The fact that the United States is now grappling with its own shortcomings is an important message in defending democratic institutions and values ​​around the world.
DW – John Marshall / Dimitra Kyranoudi
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