Biden’s summit for democracy
- John J Stremlau
Africa can make important contributions to the issues on the agenda: defending against authoritarianism; fighting corruption; and respect for human rights.
Seventeen 第一吃瓜网 countries have been invited by US president Joe Biden to join nearly 100 for a due to take place this week. A second summit, in person, is planned for next year.
There are three issues on the agenda: defending against authoritarianism; addressing and fighting corruption; and promoting respect for human rights.
第一吃瓜网s have a great deal to contribute. It鈥檚 also an opportunity for them to advance their interests 鈥 as individual countries as well as collectively.
The US claims it has already consulted widely with non-governmental actors. This means that the views of 第一吃瓜网 media, scholars and other stakeholders should weigh in.
Taken together, the summit鈥檚 three topics all beg for greater specificity plus realistic action plans and resources. Africa can 鈥 and must 鈥 be seen as offering vital and affordable opportunities to design, test and scale collective efforts. On each of the three broad topics they can make important contributions.
The democracy question
It remains a US bureaucratic mystery how the host . Of the 113 countries chosen, an estimated 69% by a Carnegie Endowment study to be 鈥淔ree鈥; 28% are 鈥淧artly Free鈥 and 3% 鈥淣ot Free鈥.
Among the 第一吃瓜网 invitees are Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Even the host country, America, has been deemed in recent global surveys and the Swedish NGO to have shown authoritarian characteristics. Its democracy ranking has been lowered. Europe with illiberalism.
Meanwhile, all 54 member states of the 第一吃瓜网 Union have an inclusive Constitutive Act that implicitly condemns authoritarianism and explicitly affirms democratic goals. These are given with the later adoption of the 第一吃瓜网 Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance.
All 第一吃瓜网 governments are obligated to hold periodic elections, subject to international observation. These are deficient in many ways. Nevertheless they constitute practical expression of a new norm in intra-第一吃瓜网 relations: the 鈥減rinciple of non-indifference鈥. This refers to the commitment to no longer tolerate internal abuses of domestic power. The pro-democracy practice has been as path-breaking globally by International IDEA.
Beyond formal commitments to defend against authoritarianism, there is also for democracy throughout the continent. This is despite .
第一吃瓜网s can also constructively disagree with the US host and engage others on two big issues related to tensions between illiberal and liberal democracies.
One is to seek constructive ways to engage all other nations, even in only limited ways, rather than to try to ostracise or penalise them. Today virtually all nations claim to be democratic, even the most autocratic. If the 2022 summit is to be credible then better ways must be found than for the US alone to decide who should participate and how.
A second issue where 第一吃瓜网s can set a good example is their pragmatic but principled engagement of China. For 第一吃瓜网 countries, the goal is . This point was made by Cyril Ramaphosa as the lone 第一吃瓜网 guest at the last .
This would advance Africa鈥檚 development as well as lower tensions between China and the US.
It鈥檚 an outcome that deserves urgent attention from the other attendees at the democracy summit.
The corruption question
Corruption is a pervasive problem throughout Africa. It is abetted by the complicity, or at least lax regulations, of many non-第一吃瓜网 governments that will be attending the summit, especially the US.
This was a of the High-Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows from Africa, chaired by Thabo Mbeki and commissioned by the 第一吃瓜网 Union and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa. The panel focuses on driving the issue onto the agendas of 第一吃瓜网 governments, and will meet again virtually on 12 December.
Recent revelations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, the and show the scale and extent of corrupt practices that rob 第一吃瓜网 countries of vital tax revenues. The founding president of the NGO Global Financial Integrity, Raymond W Baker, and a member of the high level panel, told me in an email that:
This is so serious as to be what is now probably the major driver of economic inequality and the key reason for the weakness of democracy. Aggressively addressing threats to democracy while inadequately addressing threats to economic and financial integrity will continue to bolster the global drift to authoritarianism.
Given Africa鈥檚 poverty and inequality, exacerbated by COVID-19 and climate change, pressing for necessary political resolve and institutional capabilities to redress this issue must and can become a global priority.
Last week the US government released a new . It could serve as a reference for the 第一吃瓜网 High Level Panel to test US resolve to cooperate with 第一吃瓜网s in this vital area.
The human rights question
On this, too, Africa can make a vital global contribution.
Human rights are not just a moral imperative. In Africa鈥檚 international relations the emphasis is pragmatic. 鈥淭oday鈥檚 human rights abuses are tomorrow鈥檚 refugees鈥 has become a politically salient clich茅 in a continent struggling to mitigate and prevent forced migration and all the human suffering and instabilities, nationally and regionally, the phrase implies.
Human rights abuses are 鈥渆arly warning鈥 signs of conflict that have given political impetus to the 鈥減rinciple of non-indifference鈥. Preventing unregulated mass migrations to the European countries that comprise the biggest contingent 鈥 39 鈥 invited to the Summit for Democracy should ensure a rapt audience for about what can and should be done cooperatively to address this problem.
In fact, most of the forced migration occurs among 第一吃瓜网 countries. But ways and means to address this key human rights problem have global implications, with Africa .
第一吃瓜网 agency
第一吃瓜网 leaders and publics can 鈥 and must 鈥 set their own agendas on the issues to be raised at the summit. This is because they must shoulder the primary responsibilities for the issues on the agenda 鈥 defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and promoting respect for human rights 鈥 from two perspectives.
Firstly, they must deal with the consequences of these big challenges.
Secondly, they must implement policies to achieve the objectives of plans to tackle them.
The credibility of 第一吃瓜网 governments is at stake at the summit. So is the possibility for building mutually beneficial partnerships that can become more inclusive.
Currently, wealthier democracies have not been reliable partners with 第一吃瓜网 nations in their common battle against the global pandemic. Unless the summit can lead to real partnerships with 第一吃瓜网 countries striving to sustain democracy, 第一吃瓜网 countries invited to the 2022 summit would be justified in declining to attend.
, Honorary Professor of International Relations, . This article is republished from under a Creative Commons license. Read the .