Can The Summit For Democracy Deliver?

This article is published by Democracy Digest. Here is an excerpt:

Although the full impact of December’s Summit for Democracy remains unclear, the gathering did serve at least two purposes, Carnegie analysts Frances Z. Brown and Thomas Carothers observe:

• • First, it was an important signaling event—a public affirmation that democracy is central to U.S. foreign policy and that Biden intends to work with other states to strengthen democracy around the world. The fact that the Chinese and Russian ambassadors to the United States felt compelled to co-author an essay in The National Interest rebutting the summit and highlighting their own democratic bona fides inadvertently reinforced Washington’s message that democracy is the superior political system.
  • Second, the summit sped up bureaucratic policy development. Determined to present a set of deliverables, the Biden team made tangible progress in the lead-up to the event by developing a collection of new initiatives focused on democracy and human rights. These include assistance for independent media around the world, tools for making sure elections are free and fair, and efforts to advance technology to safeguard democratic processes….

Read the full article here.