US Democracy Summit and invitation to Taiwan

Analysts were quick to point out the juxtaposition of President Biden’s declaration of “democracy needs champions”. In this year’s Rule of Law Index released by the World Justice Project, the host country United States overall rule of law score dropped 2.9%, more than any other high-income country or any other country in Western Europe and North America [1]. The other thing about the assembly of democratic champions was the interesting invitation list which comprised a range of small and middle powers.

Invitation List

A common observation among both supporters and critics of the U.S-led summit is the peculiar list of countries invited. In addition to long-term European allies, Denmark, New Zealand and Uruguay made it to the list, having performed consistently in the democratic indices in their respective regions. Poland which recently has seen a rise of autocratic elements with a conservative government, anti-EU sentiments and a rise of authoritative elements was invited by Washington. The invitation was a clear extension of support to the NATO member-state in the migrant crisis, irking Belarus and Russia.

Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), who are some of the worst regional performers of the African continent were given a seat at the high table. But Rwanda, which ranks first in the region on the WSP index, was snubbed given its worsening state of freedom of expression and civic space. Washington skipped Singapore and Vietnam, both problematic democracies but strong allies. However, the Philippines, which has seen one of the greatest decreases in its performance on the rule of law index in the region and continues to be one of the lowest among the 15 countries in the East Asia & Pacific region made the cut.

An invitation that cemented the geopolitical undertones of the summit was Taiwan. A country recognised by fourteen states in the world has maintained a robust tradition of democracy. In the Democracy Index 2020 released by Economist Intelligence Unit, Taiwan ranks third in the Asia-Pacific region and 11th globally [2]. While calling it “the biggest success story of a year” that has seen a declining trend in 70% of the world, the report upgraded Taiwan from a flawed democracy to a full one.

Exclusive Club

In addition to the praise bestowed by the international community for having successfully implemented the “democracy vision”, the summit has faced a rebuttal by some of the uninvited nations. In an editorial published in The National, the ambassadors of Russia and China criticized the democracy summit for its cold war mentality and ideological confrontation. Rallying for "no model can fit all countries", they make a case for a "people-led democratic movement" in which people have the right to govern their country, whether their needs are met, and whether they have a sense of fulfilment and happiness [3].

The harshest critic has been China, especially considering the U.S had extended an invitation to Taiwan. In the aftermath of the 1949 civil war, the Kuomintang-led government fled the mainland and settled in the island nation. China claims the democratically-governed island-nation is a part of the mainland, which it intends to unite even by force. The spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry attacked the U.S democracy, calling it a 'weapon of mass destruction to incite confrontations and maintain its hegemony [4]. Highlighting the problems with the U.S democracy including money politics, identity politics, partisanship, political polarization, social division, racial tension and the wealth gap, the spokesperson noted the U.S wars and military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria at the pretext of democratic transformation.

Noting that a country's path to democracy should be chosen independently by its own people, rather than imposed from outside, China lauded its efforts for promoting the development of its democracy "in accordance with China's conditions and reality". These conditions and reality may refer to the one-party system in the country where the command of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) politburo over state affairs remains supreme. The other aspect is President Xi Jinping's hold over all matters of the party and state including political, military and economic. "The people are the masters of the country, which is the essence and core of China's democracy,” said an editorial in state-run Global Times.

Russia is the other country that did not find a seat at the democratic table. If Taiwan is the trigger point for China, for Russia it's been the presence of former Soviet Union states including Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia and Georgia and the three Baltic states in the invitee list. Though it has displayed public disapproval, its response has been less dramatic than China’s. The Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov accused Washington of being "divisive" for creating new dividing lines, to divide countries into those that are good, and those that are bad" [5].

Pakistan, on the other hand, skipped the summit despite being among the only four South Asian countries invited, India, Nepal and Maldives being the other three. Pakistan's Foreign Office (FO) said that the country did not mind engaging with the US “on a range of issues” though “at an opportune time in future”, indicating its absence at the summit [6]. Later, Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing a conclave highlighted that the country desired not to be a part of any political bloc but instead wanted to play its role in bridging gaps between the United States and China. Analysts have pointed out how Bhutan and Sri Lanka, which rank higher on the Freedom House index, weren’t invited. Pakistan's absence was masked by China's absence, its strongest ally and controversial Taiwan's presence. Moreover, the word is ripe in Pakistani state media that the Imran Khan administration is unhappy with the Biden administration’s lack of high-level engagement. President Biden has not held a meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan, virtually or otherwise despite being in office for almost a year. Explaining the South Asian dynamics, Foreign Policy’s Michael Kugelman argued that the event will be perceived through the lens of the U.S.-China rivalry which may encourage some states to keep a low profile and distance themselves from the summit’s recommendations [7].

Despite promising intent and symbolism, the summit failed to stand upfront to the global challenges threatening democratic institutions. The rise of extremist ideologies, hyper nationalism and autocratic elements continue to undermine democratic institutions and transparent electoral processes. If the purpose of the “club of democracies” was to warn China, then by inviting Taiwan, the U.S played it well. However, news reports of the video of Taiwan minister Audrey Tang's presentation on Friday being cut short over “diplomatic concerns” after a map in one of the slides showed Taiwan and China in different colours puts a question mark over the U.S “masterstroke” [8]. Going ahead, the real challenge is to stay consistent and true to democratic reforms across the globe and share the spotlight with ally partners. Democracy and democratic governance remain essential for vibrant multipolar world order.

References

[1] https://worldjusticeproject.org/our-work/research-and-data/wjp-rule-law-index-2021

[2]https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2020/

[3]https://nationalinterest.org/feature/russian-and-chinese-ambassadors-respecting-people%E2%80%99s-democratic-rights-197165

[4]https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202112/1241218.shtml

[5]https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/11/24/kremlin-blasts-divisive-us-democracy-summit-snub-a75656

[6]https://www.dawn.com/news/1662812/pakistan-desires-to-bridge-gaps-between-us-china-instead-of-joining-any-bloc-pm-imran

[7]https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/12/09/south-asia-biden-democracy-summit-modi-india-pakistan/

[8]www.theweek.in/news/world/2021/12/13/why-us-cut-video-feed-of-taiwan-minister-at-summit-for-democracy.html

Pic Courtsey-Dimitry Anikin at unsplash.com

(The views expressed are those of the author and do not represent views of CESCUBE.)