{"id":12833,"date":"2021-12-09T07:08:11","date_gmt":"2021-12-09T15:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=12833"},"modified":"2021-12-09T07:08:11","modified_gmt":"2021-12-09T15:08:11","slug":"biden-needs-to-add-development-to-his-democracy-summits-agenda-the-hill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=12833","title":{"rendered":"“Biden needs to add development to his democracy summit’s agenda”, The Hill"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Philippe Benoit, Opinion Contributor, Washington, D.C,\u00a012\/08\/21<\/span><\/p>\n

Tomorrow, President Biden<\/a> will host\u00a0<\/span>The Summit for Democracy<\/a>to\u00a0demonstrate the advantages of democracy<\/a> in the global competition with authoritarian regimes<\/a>. The U.S. can succeed in this competition by demonstrating to the people of developing countries (i.e.,\u00a0the vast majority of the world\u2019s population<\/a>) how coupling democracy and development is the best course<\/a><\/em> to improve their lives. The U.S.\u2019s ability to deploy this potent combination is an important advantage it enjoys over authoritarian competitors. For that reason, development should be added to the summit\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n

As Biden has stressed: \u201cWe are in the midst of a fundamental debate about the future and direction of our world .. between those who argue \u2026 autocracy is the best way forward \u2026 and those who understand that democracy is essential<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Similarly, he explained to a Joint Session of Congress: \u201cWe\u2019re in competition with China and other countries to win the 21st century<\/a>.\u201d And in this competition, he said, democracy must prevail:\u00a0\u201cWe have to prove that our model isn\u2019t a relic of our history; it\u2019s the single best way to revitalize the promise of our future.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

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Tomorrow’s summit is designed to do precisely that.\u00a0Over 100 countries have been invited to participate<\/a>, with representatives from governments, civil society and the private sector. The number of countries and breadth of representation shows the administration\u2019s ambition.<\/p>\n

The summit is organized around\u00a0three themes<\/a>: defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption and promoting respect for human rights. These are important topics when considering what a vibrant democracy can and should provide to its citizens. But there is a critical fourth theme missing from the summit: the power of democracies to improve the lives of the\u00a0multitudes in developing countries suffering from inadequate standards of living<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Billions in these countries<\/a> struggle to meet basic needs in food, shelter, health, education, sanitation and more. Too many families face daily threats of malnutrition, inadequate sanitation, insecurity, and generalized poverty. Too often, unreliable energy and transport systems, as well as corruption and repression, prevent families from raising their incomes to improve their lives. The\u00a0terror that COVID-19 constitutes<\/a> for\u00a0impoverished countries<\/a> illustrates the challenge.<\/p>\n

The U.S. needs to show the world\u2019s people that democracies provide the best promise to improve their lives and to protect their families. The strategy should not be anchored in merely displaying that\u00a0the world\u2019s wealthiest countries are democracies<\/a>. Rather, the strategy needs to establish that these wealthy democracies and the system they embody are the best equipped to improve the standards of living of the people of the developing world.<\/p>\n

To win a global competition, it is important to speak to the global audience, and most of that audience resides in developing countries (over 5 billion people<\/a> outside of China). Moreover, it is in these countries that populations will grow the most \u2014\u00a02 billion more people by 2050, with more than half of that growth in Africa<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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China has understood the importance of this audience, as epitomized by its massive trillion-dollar\u00a0Belt and Road Initiative<\/a> to finance infrastructure and other projects in developing countries. For various\u00a0commentators in Washington<\/a>, this initiative is less about assistance and more about Beijing\u2019s strategy to advance its geopolitical interests to the detriment of the U.S. Yet, irrespective of the motivation,\u00a0developing countries have been taking note<\/a> of both China\u2019s growing overseas assistance, as well of its development successes\u00a0in reducing poverty<\/a> and\u00a0raising incomes<\/a>domestically.<\/p>\n

But improving the quality of people\u2019s lives is not only about more infrastructure or improved material conditions. It is also about social and political dimensions and, importantly, about freedoms (as reflected, for example, in the\u00a0UN declaration on development<\/a>). This includes freedom from fear and oppression, the right to expression, to participate in politics and the right of minorities to the same opportunities as the majority. Importantly, these are elements that a vibrant democracy should deliver, and an authoritarian system is poorly equipped to provide.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately,\u00a0several of today\u2019s democracies, including in many developing countries, are falling short<\/a> in delivering on democracy\u2019s promise. For example,\u00a0minority ethnic groups in various countries are being discriminated against, or even oppressed, by the majority<\/a> (a torment that is more prevalent in and arguably endemic to authoritarian regimes). So, as Biden has stressed, democracies must do better:\u00a0\u201cWe have to defend [democracy], fight for it, strengthen it, renew it.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0 For these reasons, the three announced themes of the summit are indeed important.<\/p>\n

And yet they are insufficient in and of themselves to win the global competition. Providing the conditions to raise people out of poverty and to promote inclusive prosperity free from fear is a critical and complementary fourth theme that would speak to people\u2019s aspirations across the developing world. So, in addition to\u00a0calling for new commitments on countering authoritarianism, etc.<\/a>, the summit should catalyze action to better fight poverty and deprivation in poorer countries. Among other things, this should include increased funding and more technical support from wealthy democracies to developing countries, but also commitments from the governments of the poorer nations to foster the conditions domestically for fair and inclusive growth.<\/p>\n

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