US Summit on the question of democracy will be fruitful?

To prove itself a major champion of democracy, the United States is holding a virtual summit to discuss counter-authoritarianism, the fight against corruption, and human rights. Will this meeting be fruitful?

Following in the footsteps of former US President Donald Trump, who promoted conspiratorial ideologies and encouraged authoritarian rule, President Joe Biden is now working on his commitment to democracy and to protect it. Holding a summit.

The two-day virtual meeting begins today, December 9. It is hoped that the United States will seek to reaffirm its role as a major champion of democracy at this summit. The State Department has indicated in a statement that it is ready to play its new role "by listening, learning and expressing its views on the challenges to democracy within the United States."

President Biden's administration still faces a number of difficult challenges to democracy in the United States.

The events that took place on Capitol Hill in January this year, the Republican Party's attempt to reduce voter turnout by blocking postal voting, or a recent NPR poll revealed this fact. The fact that only one-third of Republicans believe the election is transparent is a sign that American democracy is in shambles.

Given the volatile state of democratic values ​​in the United States, both domestically and internationally, there are many questions as to what can be expected from this summit.

What can be the best expectation for results?

There is a consensus that the purpose of such a summit is to address these issues rather than to solve them.

According to Eric Whitten, professor of geopolitics and justice at Georgetown University in the United States, "it is unlikely that any concrete or significant steps will be taken." The events are aimed at clarifying US foreign policy priorities, and one of them is promoting democracy.

James Lemond is the director of the Democratic Resilience Program at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA). He says he will ask two questions to test the outcome of the summit: Will countries and participants agree on responsibilities? And are these responsibilities really purposeful?

An international issue

According to the Democracy Index compiled by the Economist's Intelligence Unit, the year 2020 has seen an overall decline in scores on democracy in almost 70% of countries. The index was started in 2006 and is the lowest score of any year since then.

The two-day summit will determine the damage done to democracy over the past decade. It will be attended by 110 countries and a number of private organizations and NGOs. But what is noteworthy is that the Biden administration did not invite countries to participate. And these countries are Russia, China and Hungary. On the other hand, the Philippines and the Congo, which are even lower than Hungary in the Democracy Index, have been invited to attend the summit.

The main strategy of the summit

America's reputation as a standard of democracy has suffered greatly. During the four-year rule of former US President Donald Trump, democratic values ​​lagged behind in US policy. China and Russia have stated opposition to using force or imposing sanctions on Iran.

Whitten says the Biden administration has set up the summit as a major power play to compete with China and Russia. He says there is a need to focus on how inconsistent Europe and the United States are in their quest for power.

The US-hosted summit is in fact a sign of a major shift in America's attitude since the Trump era that it is willing to talk about its mistakes in order to preserve a functioning democracy. It is also an indication that the United States now wants to present itself on the world stage as an opponent of corruption and dictatorship and a supporter of human rights and freedoms.