President Joseph R. Biden – Image source

One of President Joseph R. Biden’s most popular phrase is that ‘America is back’. Under Trump, American global leadership almost disappeared. Biden is doing much to restore it and make it stronger. After the 2021 G7 summit and although he did have many challenges with the Afghanistan pull out, Biden has implemented significant policies to rebrand American leadership worldwide and rekindle old alliances. In this dynamic, he is organizing a ‘summit of democracies’. This is a praiseworthy move to counter China’s increasing aggressiveness under Xi Jinping. But according to an article by Andres Oppenheimer published by the Miami Herald, he must be careful not to invite wannabe dictators to the meeting. Here is an excerpt:

President Biden deserves credit for convening a Summit of Democracies to promote democratic freedoms around the world. But there is a real danger that by inviting some elected leaders with an authoritarian streak, he may end up legitimizing wannabe tyrants.

According to a White House statement, Biden “will bring together leaders from a diverse group of world’s democracies at a virtual Summit of Democracies” on Dec. 9 and 10, to be followed by a second, in-person summit next year. The goal of the first meeting will be to come up with joint initiatives to defend against authoritarianism, fight corruption and promote respect for human rights, it says.

It sounds great, and it’s is certainly a welcome departure from President Trump’s embrace of North Korean despot Kim Jong-un and other autocrats whom he wooed gleefully while ignoring their human-rights abuses.

Read the full article here.