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Joe Biden’s Democracy Summit Is the Height of Hypocrisy
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 moreover been no explanation given as to why some countries were invited and not others.
He points to a flaw amongst the presentations during the Summit: that it is disingenuous to conflate attacks on political freedom with a simplified global context which posits "democracies" on one hand and China and Russia on the other. This dynamic is moreover problematic, as it may result in legitimising those nations that are themselves the source of threats.
The case of India is used as an example of how this dynamic may play out in practice: while India is rated by Freedom House as "Not Free" and has been widely criticised for its violation of human rights, particularly that of worship, the Summit now wishes to cooperate with Modi in soliciting "bold practicable ideas" to safeguard democracy.