The 2021 Summit for Democracy has divided the world into two factions: American vassal states, and everyone else. The free world indeed. However, upon closer examination, the guest list doesn’t make much sense. Some oddly undemocratic countries were invited, while some American allies were conspicuously left out. Why? Let’s dig deeper.
According to the Department of State website:
In advance of the first summit, we are consulting with experts from government, multilateral organizations, philanthropies, civil society, and the private sector to solicit bold, practical ideas around three key themes:
1. Defending against authoritarianism
2. Addressing and fighting corruption
3. Promoting respect for human rights
How exciting! Let’s take a look at the invite list.
Albania
Angola
Antigua and Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Bahamas
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Botswana
Brazil
Bulgaria
Cabo Verde
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of Congo
Denmark
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Estonia
European Union
Fiji
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guyana
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Latvia
Liberia
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Mongolia
Montenegro
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
New Zealand
Niger
Nigeria
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palau
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Korea
Romania
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Spain
Suriname
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Trinidad and Tobago
Tuvalu
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Vanuatu
Zambia
Of course it is hilarious to claim that these countries are the world’s “democracies.” I don’t think there’s even one person alive who is dumb enough to think this list had anything to do with who is democratic and who isn’t. Iraq is under military occupation, Ukraine is bombing her own citizens, and Georgia recently experienced mob violence against an LGBTQIA+ pride organization.
Chris Devonshire-Ellis argues in his article for The Silk Road argues that the guest list was crafted for geopolitical purposes, not democratic ones. Sure, but from the perspective of Realpolitik, this list still doesn’t make any sense. If the goal of the summit is to strengthen the American empire, surely this strange guest list will only accomplish the opposite. Why deliberately provoke Pakistan by inviting India but not them? If bolstering Ukraine is so important, why exclude their larger and stronger neighbor Hungary? The USA is currently abiding by the One China policy, so why deliberately cause a provocation by inviting Taiwan?
Probably because the person or persons who wrote this guest list wasn’t acting out of geopolitical motivations, or at least not entirely. There was definitely some irrational emotion involved. Everybody who was excluded from this list has recently done something to offend American liberals. A nation refusing to gender transition toddlers is pretty much guaranteed to get you declared “undemocratic,” but I don’t think the reasoning was even that consistent. The problem with letting emotion rule your decision-making is that emotion is, by definition, pretty spontaneous and not terribly consistent. Yes, Hungary isn’t very woke, but are they really more of a dictatorship than Georgia? No, of course not. But Hungary did hurt American liberals’ feelings recently. Note that violence in of itself won’t necessarily offend a Western liberal, but challenging his wishes will offend him.
From the outside, American Democrats might be difficult to distinguish from American Republicans. But this summit is a clear case for the argument that, yes, Republicans and Democrats are very different. When it comes to foreign policy, Republicans do tend to be more pragmatic and willing to make ideological concessions. Democrats are not willing to make such ideological concessions. Their minds are typically ruled by emotion and they lack even basic impulse control. Let me remind everyone that the USA has nuclear weapons, and the people who currently control those nuclear weapons are emotionally and mentally unstable.
Ian Kummer
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