U.S. President Joe Biden is gathering heads of state and notable figures from around the world for a "Summit for Democracy" that will be held online in December, in what appears to be a challenge to Beijing and an alternative to the traditional G20 summit. The White House stated on Wednesday that Biden aims to bring together heads of state and key figures from philanthropy, civil society, and the private sector “from a diverse range of democracies worldwide.”
The meeting, scheduled for December 9 and 10, aims to "rally commitments and initiatives around three main pillars: combating authoritarianism, fighting corruption, and enhancing respect for human rights." Biden plans to reconvene the participants a year later, hoping that it will be held in person, to "showcase the progress made" under their commitments.
The statement did not provide any details regarding the list of invitees to the summit, which follows a meeting of G20 leaders. The G20 determines its membership based on economic weight and includes authoritarian regimes such as China and Saudi Arabia, with its next meeting scheduled for late October in Italy.
Washington’s invitation exceeds the G7 framework, which only includes major Western democracies and does not represent emerging nations. According to the statement, Biden said, "The challenge of our time is to demonstrate that democracies can improve the lives of their citizens and respond to the greatest challenges facing the broader world."
**Building Alliances**
The U.S. president has long expressed a desire to lead the "free world," a role that is often informally assigned to the occupant of the White House, a position from which his predecessor, Donald Trump, deviated by prioritizing "America First" in both domestic and foreign policies. During his four years in office, Trump abandoned multilateral approaches in foreign policy in favor of bilateral exchanges with traditional allies.
The White House described the summit as "an opportunity for the world's leaders to listen to one another and to their citizens, share successes, drive international cooperation, and speak candidly about the challenges facing democracy." The Biden administration has been presented as having already paved the way for this effort, having recently achieved a significant victory with the Senate's approval of his infrastructure investment plan.
The White House noted, "During the first six months of his term, the president revitalized our democracy, vaccinated 70 percent of the population, passed the American Rescue Plan, and advanced bipartisan legislation to invest in our infrastructure and competitiveness." They added that he "also rebuilt our alliances with our democratic partners and allies." The 70 percent figure refers to adults who have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while barely half of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated.
