Joe Biden, who wants to be an eternal optimist, assured Wednesday that the “tide had turned” towards more democracy in the world, during a virtual summit organized at the initiative of the United States, which by elsewhere rather resounded with warnings about the progress of authoritarianism.
“There are real signs that the tide has turned” towards more democracy in the world, said the American president, very hoarse, in a short statement from the White House. “Democracy requires great effort” and “the task is never finished”, he added, however.
Washington, calling on democracies to unite against Russia and China, will inject $690 million to support this effort.
This second edition of the “Democracy Summit” brings together leaders from 121 countries, including India and Israel, whose two leaders are defending themselves against critics accusing them of rolling back rights in their country.
Zelensky
The summit must work to “hold Russia responsible” for the war in Ukraine and “show that democracies are strong and determined”, the Democratic President had already declared during a brief introductory remark on Wednesday morning.
He added during his other speech that the objective of this rally, the principle of which does not convince all observers, was not to “make big words” but to “incite action” against the climate change, against hate speech, against corruption, or in favor of women’s rights.
Democracy “is under attack” and it must be “revived”, for his part declared South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, one of the co-organizers with Costa Rica, the Netherlands and Zambia.
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky led the charge against Russia, highlighting its role in disinformation operations and interference in elections around the world.
“The enemies of democracy must lose, only on this basis will democracy be truly secure. Make Ukraine’s resolve your own,” he urged.
Israel
If the fears come for many from the ambitions of China and Russia, the democracies themselves are under pressure.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, shaken by a highly contested justice reform project, assured that the alliance between his country and the United States was “unshakeable”.
After announcing a pause in his reform on Monday, he maintained on Wednesday that a “balance” could “be achieved” between “the need to strengthen the executive and legislative powers and […] that of protecting individual rights.
The day before, the American president had clearly put pressure on the Israeli government, the recipient each year of very heavy American military aid: “They cannot continue on this path and I think I have made myself understood”, he had said.
Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister criticized for kicking out a leading opposition figure from parliament on Friday, called India “the mother of democracy”, a notion that “is not just a structure, but also a spirit “.
Joe Biden has avoided inviting leaders to the controversial power practice, such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
Taiwan
The United States, which identifies China as the greatest long-term danger to the international order, has on the other hand invited Taiwan to the summit, even if the island is not recognized by Washington.
For a spokeswoman for Beijing, this event “stirs up division in the name of democracy”.
Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has accused the United States of hypocrisy. “We have seen the disastrous consequences of American attempts to force the export of democracy in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan,” he said.
Joe Biden’s optimism is not unanimously shared, far from it.
“Today we see more and more despotism and less and less Enlightenment,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said earlier, pointing to attacks on press freedom and against defenders. human rights.
The Swiss organization V-Dem, which defines itself as an observatory of democracy, points out that now 72% of the world’s population lives in authoritarian regimes, while the proportion was 46% in 2012.