Promoting Democracy

In his Wall Street Journal column William Galston remarks on the “Global Trends” report I’ve posted on twice:

During his presidential campaign, Mr. Biden proposed convening a “Summit for Democracy” to reinvigorate the global democracy movement. Some have criticized this step as premature at best, saying America should get its own democratic house in order before trying to rally others to the cause. The new report takes the opposite tack: By focusing on democracy in the world, the U.S. will have fresh incentives to improve democracy at home.

The summit must be designed for long-term results, the report says. Among other things, that means it must include a price of admission for attending countries, plans of action with timetables, and mutual commitment to put supporting democracy and countering authoritarianism at the center of diplomacy. Countries would coordinate efforts to resist backsliding within existing democracies, as well as denouncing authoritarian violations of human rights and democratic norms.

More controversially, the report calls on America and its allies to make democracy a prerequisite of security assistance such as advanced weaponry and defense technology. U.S. law prohibits assistance to countries committing “gross violations of human rights,” but such help should come with more explicit rules around human rights and democratic governance. Doing this wouldn’t be easy. Elevating democracy and human rights may create friction with longstanding partners such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

Other sections of the report call for boosting investment in the pillars of democracy—free and fair elections, the rule of law, a diverse and independent media and a vibrant civil society, among others. It proposes making the fight against corruption and kleptocracy a national-security priority—a stance Mr. Biden has endorsed. And it lays out a plan to harness American economic power in support of a more democratic world. This would require the strategic use of treaties and development finance, as well as corporate respect for democracy and human rights throughout global supply chains.

While some of the report’s specific recommendations are open to challenge, it is certainly comprehensive. By laying out the full range of actions that a serious effort to advance democracy would require, the report gives policy makers a template for progress.

But all this will take leadership from the top. Mr. Biden’s national security adviser should appoint a team to review this report and make recommendations about how it can be adapted to promote the president’s vision of revitalized U.S. democracy, leading a coalition of like-minded countries to promote democracy around the world.

I disagree rather fundamentally with this. I think that while the U. S. should be the “well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all” it should be the champion and vindicator only of our own. The two ways we can promote liberal democracy most effectively are by

• Ensuring that our elections are free, fair, and honest. Everyone who is legally entitled to vote should be able to vote and
• Bolstering our own prosperity and egalitarianism

We need to show that liberal democracy can be successful and effective. In doing those things we will have done what we can and doing anything else is waste motion, wishful thinking.