Comment: Time to build a new coalition of democracies from the ground up

Joe Biden plans to organise a summit for democracy early in his presidency – but has the standing of the US been too damaged by Trump for the superpower to lead in this way?

Joe Biden, the US president, wants to ‘bring together the world’s democracies to strengthen our democratic institutions, honestly confront countries that are backsliding, and forge a common agenda‘. Picture: Getty

All over the world, democracy is in retreat. In 2020 the Democracy Index, published by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) since 2006, fell to its lowest-ever global level.

This development cannot be attributed exclusively to restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, because the ratings have been in free fall since 2015. So it is not surprising that in his first foreign policy speech as US president, Joe Biden focused on the need to safeguard democratic ...