As President Joe Biden prepares to host the second Summit for Democracy, his commitment to democratic values is being challenged by critics who argue that his actions do not align with his words. Despite Biden’s pledge to rescue democracy worldwide, Freedom House categorizes America as less free than 56 other nations while most countries are veering towards authoritarianism.
Criticism of Biden’s Leadership on Democracy
The Council on Foreign Relations’ President Richard Haass has dismissed the summit as a “bad idea that won’t go away.” Meanwhile, US government officials fear that it would only be an “inconsequential talk shop” with no concrete actions to promote democracy. Critics also argue that Biden’s recent edicts set a terrible example for other democratic leaders as elected rulers around the globe are turning themselves into dictators.
US Involvement in Afghanistan War
Furthermore, House Republicans are holding hearings about the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, which ended the United States’ two-decade war in the country. The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan saw 13 American service personnel killed at Kabul Airport by an ISIS suicide bomber, and at least 170 Afghans also died in the attack. Some of them are advocating for impeachment proceedings against Biden, partly due to his administration abandoning 40 million Afghans to the Taliban’s misogynistic regime only a year and a half ago.
Commission Examining Afghanistan War
To examine the policy lessons from America’s involvement in Afghanistan, there is also a bipartisan commission consisting of 16 experts who worked in US government, media and think tanks focusing on Afghanistan or related subjects. The commission will assess early decisionmaking after the fall of Taliban in 2001 that impacted the conflict, political issues surrounding governing Afghanistan as well as its military challenges. This commission was established because there was no comprehensive examination of conduct of the Iraq War by the US government as in the UK’s British Chilcot Inquiry.
Second Summit for Democracy Co-hosted by United States
Against this background of domestic and foreign criticism, President Biden is co-hosting the second Summit for Democracy with Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Zambia. The summit aims to focus on democratic resilience and increasing young people’s participation in democracies.
More than 120 global leaders have been invited to attend the summit, which will be held in Costa Rica later this year. The second summit will recognize countries that made commitments and followed through on their pledges towards positive reforms. Albania and Angola were praised for positive reforms to their judiciaries.
Challenges to Global Democracy
Summit organizers stress that authoritarianism is the biggest threat to global democracy while technology could support democratic freedom. However, China is excluded from the summit, while Taiwan will participate as a solid democratic partner. Despite Honduras establishing diplomatic relations with China and cutting ties with Taiwan, the US plans to continue to “deepen and expand engagements” with Latin America and Taiwan.
With democracy declining globally for the 17th consecutive year, many remain skeptical about how effective these summits can be in promoting democracy. While there have been promises of reform at past summits, there has been no significant progress worldwide.
To conclude, President Biden faces significant challenges ahead of the Summit for Democracy. Critics argue that his administration’s recent actions do not align with his commitment to promoting democracy worldwide. Meanwhile, there are concerns about the effectiveness of such summits in addressing rising authoritarianism worldwide. Nonetheless, organizers remain committed to promoting democratic resilience and increasing young people’s participation in democracies.
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