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Category: Opinion

Biden’s Exclusion of Erdoğan from the Democracy Summit May Be a Blessing in Disguise for Turkey

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Kemal Kirişci writes in Just Security about how excluding President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may serve to support the opposition in Turkey and therefore contribute to strengthening democracy. The article considers the devastating impacts of Erdoğan’s leadership for Turkish democracy, noting that his policies have created massive economic, political, social and foreign policy issues. These problems … Continued

Biden’s Democracy Summit Could Backfire

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Stephen M. Walt considers the potential merits and drawbacks of the Summit with regard to different framings of the current global state of democracy. While there is nothing inherently wrong with the idea, it is unclear what the ultimate goal of the initiative is, and flawed American democracy at home harms US credibility in promoting … Continued

Can the Summit for Democracy deliver?

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Susannah Fitzgerald of the UK Anti-Corruption Coalition, Aarti Narsee of CIVICUS and Karla McLaren of Amnesty International UK weigh in on how the Prime Minister of the UK and other world leaders can deliver on efforts associated with the Summit. For Fitzgerald, the UK and other such countries need to be honest about their own … Continued

The Summit for Democracy Skips the Arab World

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Ben Fishman of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy considers the potential for the Summit to impact democracy in the Arab World, from which only Iraq was invited to the Summit. The Arab Uprisings of ten years ago have not translated into better democratic outcomes, with reforms following the protests “wholly or partly aimed … Continued

Diplomacy Alone Can’t Save Democracy

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Yasmeen Serhan critically considers in the Atlantic how far diplomacy can go in effecting more democratic governance, emphasising that for lasting change to occur, the impetus and drive must come from within. Diplomacy “can pressure and promote more democratic practices, but it is not what drives democracy forward”, as democratisation is a process that occurs … Continued

The Summit for Democracy Is a Good Start—But What Comes Next?

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Max Bergmann of the Center for American Progress addresses some common criticisms of the Summit, arguing that the initiative is a valuable effort that holds great potential for supporting democracy. Success hinges on the momentum set off by the initiative for leaders to feel empowered and democracies across the globe to support each other in … Continued

Democracy is in trouble, and Biden’s summit is not going to fix it

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Aleksandar Hemon, Aida A. Hozic and Srdjan Vucetic argue in Politico that the Summit will not be enough to counter increasing ethnocentric nationalism globally, focussing particularly on increasing instability in the Balkans. They contend that the Summit will consist of “mostly predictable speeches”, and faces criticism from all directions including fundamental criticisms of American democracy. … Continued

Joe Biden’s Democracy Summit Is the Height of Hypocrisy

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Debasish Roy Chowdhury argues in Time magazine that the Summit amounts to little more than a “geopolitical ploy” by the US government. While democracy at home is in peril, and the withdrawal from Afghanistan resulting in chaos, the US does not find itself in a credible position to pass judgement on democracies elsewhere. There has … Continued

What a Successful Summit for Democracy Looks Like from Africa

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Gregory Kearns outlines in Modern Diplomacy concrete ways for the Summit to advance democracy in Africa. He begins by considering the state of democracy in Africa, before moving on to concrete suggestions to which the US and its allies should commit. Suggestions include promoting intra-party democracy and the inclusion of minority groups (notably youth and … Continued

Biden’s ‘Summit for Democracy’ needs to be democratized

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Laura Thornton in The Hill criticises the undemocratic closed-door nature of the preparations for the Summit and lack of participation by civil society, making suggestions for a more dynamic, open and inclusive approach moving forward. The Year of Action following the Summit will be crucial, during which time follow-up events can provide inspiration, innovation and … Continued

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