President Biden’s virtual democracy summit held last month was in one sense a breath of fresh air. For the first time in decades, we witnessed world leaders recommit to values that have made us relatively prosperous, safe and free for 75 years. Yet leaders’ words will ring hollow if not backed up by actions commensurate to the scale of the autocratic challenge. The free world cannot afford to go back to business as usual, which is why the Summit should be the first action in a process to build a global alliance of democracies.
The Summit for Democracy met against a perilous global backdrop. Russia threatening an offensive into Europe; China mounting its threats against democratic Taiwan and blacklisting Lithuania from international trade; and Belarus weaponizing migrants on Europe’s border.
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