Promoting democracy

The presidency of Donald Trump in the US was one of the worst expressions of anti-democratic and nationalist populism across the world. Trump’s ‘America First’ ideology, his disregard of democracy, his attraction to autocratic rulers and his effort to overturn the results of the presidential election caused massive damage. The attack on the US Capitol on January 6 made the US system look weak and in considerable demise.

Now a window of opportunity seems to be opening. In his election campaign, President Joe Biden pledged that during his first year in office, the US will host a global ‘Summit for Democracy’ to “renew the spirit and shared purpose of the nations of the free world”. An interim national security strategic guidance, published March 3, says that reversing the anti-democratic trend in the world was essential to US national security.

In a similar vein, the European Union’s representative on foreign affairs, Josep Borrell, has said that the EU should deepen its cooperation “with fellow democracies to counter the rise of authoritarianism”. A new action plan adopted in November puts a high priority on democracy promotion.

The United Kingdom has been pursuing the idea of expanding the membership in the Group of Seven (G7) bloc of states to Australia, India and South Korea, in order to form a so-called D10 “club of democracies”. This club, in the UK’s view, should help lessen reliance on Chinese technology. Reportedly, the UK as host of this year’s G7 summit plans to give full access to these three new partners.

As Biden has noted, renewing democracy at home is a precondition for regaining credibility as a promoter of democracy abroad. This applies to all countries that consider themselves democratic, requiring a reckoning with their shortcomings on both fronts.

Surveys indicate that large majorities of people in all world regions continue to believe in democracy. However, there is strong dissatisfaction with how it operates in practice. Governments are perceived to be failing to address major issues such as corruption, inequality, the needs of ordinary people or the threat of global warming.

The attack on the US Capitol prompted German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas to call for a “joint Marshall Plan for democracy”. He commented that it was necessary to look into “the roots of the social divisions in our countries”.

Indeed, a club of democracies could help identify common challenges and solutions. As many issues have a cross-border dimension, a transnational perspective would be vital. The criteria for membership in such a club is a crucial question. It is not obvious why a club of democracies should be limited to the G7 countries – Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US – plus Australia, India and South Korea.

Excerpted: ‘Time for global democracy promotion to be ramped up’

Aljazeera.com