IRIA News

U.S. President Joe Biden kicked off the second Summit for Democracy on March 29, 2023. Biden pledged that the U.S. would spend $690 million in funding to support democratic values and practices all around the world.

The multi-day virtual summit would be co-hosted by the U.S., Netherlands, South Korea, Costa Rica, and Zambia. In his opening remarks, Biden said that strengthening democracy is “the defining challenge of our age.”

U.S. President Biden said in his opening remarks “When we gathered here in December 2021, the sentiment in too many places around the world was that democracy’s best days were behind us. Democracy declined by some measures for 15 consecutive years. But this year, we can say there’s a different story to tell.”

The brainchild of the Biden administration, the first installment of the Summit for Democracy came in December 2021. The U.S. President invited democratic leaders from around the world to a virtual summit that aimed to strengthen democratic values in the face of increased backsliding.

The situation of democratic governments has worsened since then, as many democratically elected governments, even those of the U.S.’s closest allies, as facing severe backlash at home for their non-democratic practices.

Today, we can say with pride that the democracies of the world are getting stronger, not weaker.

And the autocracies of the world are getting weaker, not stronger. pic.twitter.com/Y5LMCu7JWF

— President Biden (@POTUS) March 29, 2023

Turkey and Hungary were not invited while Pakistan skipped the summit

The 2023 summit involves the participation of representatives of 120 counties, including Taiwan, however, the U.S. NATO-allies Turkey and Hungary were not invited to the summit while following its trend from last year, Pakistan said it would skip its participation in the summit this year as well largely due to China’s backlash on the summit caused by Taiwan’s participation in the summit.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry released a statement thanking the United States and its co-hosts for the invitation to the summit, however, excused from participating in the summit. The statement said that “Pakistan would engage bilaterally with the United States and co-hosts of the Summit to promote and strengthen democratic principles and values and work towards advancing human rights and the fight against corruption.”

Criticism of the summit

Several observers have questioned the usefulness of the summit while particularly pointing out Washington’s role as the flag bearer of the democratic rule of law in the world despite being a beneficiary of several authoritarian regimes. Critics have also pointed out that several of the U.S.’s closest allies, including India and Israel, have seen a severe backsliding of democratic practices in the local political systems.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the opening session of the Summit for Democracy less than a week after India’s leading opposition figure Rahul Gandhi was expelled from countries parliament. In a questionable case of defamation against Prime Minister Modi, Gandhi was stripped of his parliamentary seat.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also addressed the opening session of the summit despite receiving internal as well as international criticism for his plans to overhaul Israel’s judicial system, a move that critics believe to be a direct blow to the country’s democratic values.

China, which has been the U.S.’s top geopolitical competitor in recent years, criticized the event by stating that Washington needs to stop interfering in other countries’ “internal affairs” in the name of promoting democracy. Beijing was not invited to attend the event.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that “Despite the many problems at home, the US is hosting another ‘Summit for Democracy’ in the name of promoting democracy, an event that blatantly draws an ideological line between countries and creates division in the world.”

Third Summit of Democracy

South Korea has announced to host the third Summit for Democracy. As the co-hosts for the ongoing summit, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden released a joint statement.

“The United States and the Republic of Korea share deep bonds, rooted in our common democratic values and respect for human rights, and we are committed to further strengthening our robust political, economic, security, and people-to-people ties,” the statement said.

According to the White House, the joint statement added, “The Republic of Korea’s democratic institutions are a beacon of strength in the Indo-Pacific and demonstrate to the world that democracy fosters the conditions needed to cultivate continued security and prosperity.”