Clover Aardklop

By  Adhere Cavince

What you need to know:

• It is a rushed project to re-establish a Cold War structure, this time with China as the chief antagonist.
• The US democratisation enterprise has lately come under heavy criticism following the Afghanistan disaster.

Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration are scratching their heads regarding the planned December 2021 Summit on Democracy.

According to the White House, the Summit, part of the deliverables promised by the US leader within his first year in office, is primed to fortify the spirit of democracy around the world.

Its theme may be exciting in some quarters as numerous reports indicate that the Washington idea of democracy is in decline. Yet, this is both simplistic and antagonistic.

First, it creates a two-prism world: A country is either classified as a democracy or otherwise. This view does not appreciate the complex domestic situations in different countries, including in the US, which has lately failed to reflect the hue and character of its democratic yardstick.

In essence, it is a rushed project to re-establish a Cold War structure, this time with China as the chief antagonist. In a world of complex economic interdependence and interests, a number of US allies are growing weary of this dichotomy; creating a nightmare for the organisers.

Secondly, the US democratisation enterprise has lately come under heavy criticism following the Afghanistan disaster. For two decades, Washington tried to impose foreign values on Afghans after driving away the Taliban.

Strengthening democracy

The return to Taliban rule merely days after the announcement of the US pullout and the accompanying humanitarian disaster has sent a chilling message to allies and foes alike about the folly of military adventurism under the guise of democracy promotion. The apparent lack of consultation and coordination with its allies in Afghanistan also sucked much of the leadership dividend that Washington enjoyed within Nato.

Thirdly, consolidating its domestic democratic ideals and realities could have been a more appropriate point of call for the Biden administration. According to the 2021 Chicago Council Survey on US foreign policy, 70 per cent of Americans favour strengthening democracy at home, compared to just 44 per cent who prefer the foreign enterprise.

More importantly, the poll revealed some key focus areas such as improving public education (73 per cent ); preventing the insurrection and political violence (54 per cent ); and reducing both racial (53 per cent ) and economic (50 per cent) inequality as very important in securing US global influence.

The survey indicators are, indeed reflective prevalent views around the world. The racial discrimination remains a scourge within American society. Fixing US democracy will take much effort to ensure safety, economic viability and political inclusion of minority groups living in America.

As the leader of the sole superpower, President Biden has a right and responsibility to shape and reimagine the global role of the US. However, when US domestic character is superimposed on other countries without due consideration of the prevailing circumstances, America loses its leadership potential to continue playing a constructive major power role in the world.

Mr Cavince is an international relations expert.

By  Adhere Cavince

Only a dozen African countries have been invited to the December 9-10 United States-organised Summit on Democracy. The virtual event will see representatives from more than 100 countries and regions join US President Joe Biden in a mega boot camp aimed at revamping the enterprise of democracy.

By inviting less than 25 per cent of the super majority African Union member states, the Biden Administration has stepped down its partnership tempo with Africa following a promising gesture by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after his recent three-nation maiden tour of the continent.

For decades, Africa’s relevance in US foreign policy has been confined to geopolitical considerations. During the Cold War, the US sought alliances with African leaders to keep the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from gaining influence in the continent. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Africa became America’s national security buffer zone in the internationalised war on terror.

Africa has been viewed by US leaders as a troubled space characterised by bad governance, conflict, disease and economic backwardness. That has dampened the US private sector investment spirit in Africa with foreign aid and democracy promotion becoming the major anchors of US-Africa ties. While the Biden regime has sought to rewrite the rules of engagement with Africa, the new energy should be directed at Africa’s development priorities as outlined in the continent’s socioeconomic renovation blueprint, Agenda 2063.

The African people are forging ahead with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) development programme that seeks to transform their economic standing through trade, travel and investments.

Long-term cooperation
A US-led global summit on Covid-19 pandemic would have made more sense at this time. The global health crisis has taken an economic toll on Africa with just seven per cent of its adult population inoculated against the virus. The first climate-induced famine is under way in Madagascar and the forecast for economic recovery is tempered in much of the continent. These require urgent and sustainable partnerships and the superpower should provide leadership.

To be an effective partner for Africa, the US should define a long-term cooperation model that does not rely on which political party is in the White House. The fear that President Biden’s successor will throw away the gains he is trying to consolidate in Africa, as his predecessor Donald Trump did, makes many Africans sceptical about America’s long-term commitments to the continent.

Secondly, Africans welcome international development partners without conditions. Majority of Africans want their governments to make decisions without interference from donors and lenders. Biden’s ideas, like the Build Back Better World, can only make a positive difference in Africa’s modernisation bid if it shakes away the conditionalities tag that defines US interactions with Africa.

Thirdly, Africa is ready for tangible investments in consequential areas of energy, technology, infrastructure, human capacity building and industrial value chains that can promote inclusive trade. This will provide a sustainable path to economically empower communities and reduce poverty that still holds sway over 490 million Africans.

Fourth, the US should gracefully contend with and welcome the contribution of Africa’s other development partners. On China, for instance, 63 per cent of Africans see Beijing’s economic influence in their countries as positive, according to a recent Afrobarometer survey. Framing the US-Africa relations in terms of competition with other countries is antithetical to Africans’ expectations.

A range of opportunities exist in Africa’s development space. Its energy-deficit stands at a staggering 550 Gigawatt and at least 17 new airports are needed. The irrigation infrastructure gap hinders cultivation of 155 million hectares that could significantly boost food security. By 2040, Africa will need 60,000 kilometres of road network.

The Summit should, therefore, not just be a space for expressing temporary camaraderie against threats to democracy. The delegates should discuss modalities of delivering long-term global development programmes in Africa and other developing regions.

Adhere Cavince is a scholar of international relations. 

By Wesley Seale

As we went to the polls in South Africa, my mind was on my grandparents. Both my grandfathers died before being endowed with the right to vote.

Fortunately, both my grandmothers lived to see the day where they could participate in deciding who should govern them.

Yet many citizens across the globe continue to be denied the right to participate in elections. For example, the Brennan Centre for Justice in the US reports that more than 11% of Americans, or 21 million eligible voters, do not have government-issued photo identification and are therefore disqualified from voting.

Thirty-six states in the US, that is, the majority, have forced their citizens to obtain these government-issued IDs and often, as the centre explains, people cannot obtain these IDs because of underlying costs.

Needless to mention, frequently the people who lack these IDs or who are discriminated against when receiving them, are minorities. Estimates by the centre suggest that nearly a quarter of African-Americans do not have these IDs, compared with only 8% of white citizens.

At the same time, the millions of residents in the US territories of Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa as well as Puerto Rico are barred, according to the US electoral college system, from voting in general elections.

While US elections always happen on a Tuesday, these are not declared public holidays and therefore workers often do not get the chance to vote. Taking this into account, it is strange that the US could criticise China for the so-called “continued erosion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in political participation, in Hong Kong”.

The unexpected October 21 statement continues on the trajectory of US efforts to destabilise Hong Kong. It criticises Hong Kong law for allegedly disqualifying “scores of pro-democracy councillors”, as if there are councillors who are not pro-democracy in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Even more so, the Biden administration plans a “Summit for Democracy” where it hopes to lecture the world in order to defend America’s democratic values which, according to the US government, are inseparable from advancing US national interests.

The December 9 to 10 summit will not look necessarily at the challenges faced by the US and its democracy, which is clearly in jeopardy, but rather seeks to point fingers at other countries and undermine domestic democratic processes there.

Reports suggest that while most SADC countries have been invited to the summit, Zimbabwe, eSwatini and Tanzania have been left out. US Foreign Affairs officials refuse to comment on how each country was selected for invitation to the summit. We can only read a divide and rule strategy being implemented by the US.

The US would do well to pay attention to fixing its own political system before attempting to lecture the rest of the world about democracy. As the saying goes, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. The US governance system has been glaringly exposed by Trumpism and the January 6 uprising.

As South Africans were going to the polls on November 1, some Americans were recalling the 256th anniversary of the passing of the Stamp Act against the American Colonies in the British parliament in 1765. This tax led to the American Revolution and the independence of the colonies.

Just as the Americans were not satisfied with being colonies, they must know that the people of the world, especially the global south, will not tolerate their continuous interference in our domestic issues. Like them, we will rise and reject American imperialism as they, and my grandparents, rejected British colonialism.

By Rédaction Kinshasa

Une conférence qui ignorerait les différents modèles de démocratie et exclurait les pays désireux de coopérer serait un pas en arrière.

Le « Sommet pour la démocratie » virtuel se tiendra les 9 et 10 décembre, avec un sommet en personne qui suivra dans environ un an. Le Sommet, promu par le gouvernement américain, vise à galvaniser trois thèmes majeurs : la lutte contre l’autoritarisme, la lutte contre la corruption et le respect des droits humains. Et il fournira une plate-forme aux dirigeants pour prendre des engagements à la fois individuels et collectifs pour défendre la démocratie et les droits de l’homme dans le pays et à l’étranger.

Les pays du monde entier sont confrontés à une liste de défis qui se sont étendus bien au-delà des trois thèmes du Sommet. Cela inclut les inégalités, la participation civique, la désinformation, la protection des systèmes électoraux, le financement illicite, les technologies émergentes, les grandes entreprises et le populisme transnational. En outre, le sommet des pays partageant les mêmes idées lancerait un appel à l’action pour la formation d’une nouvelle alliance fondée sur des principes et un engagement à établir une vision commune pour l’avenir d’Internet.

Mais le Sommet pourrait s’avérer être une autre bonne idée mal exécutée. Une autre conférence pour la rhétorique de la démocratie dénuée de sens serait un pas en arrière. À l’autre extrémité du spectre, une « Alliance des démocraties » rigide pourrait exclure de manière contre-productive des pays qui ne s’inscrivent pas dans un modèle de démocratie préconçu.

Il n’y a pas de modèle standard unique de société, de système économique et encore moins de démocratie. Mais comme une construction historique basée sur les conditions, les circonstances et les caractéristiques de chaque peuple et nation. Le monopole de la définition de la démocratie au profit de certains pays et l’incitation à la confrontation idéologique sur la ligne de « démocratie contre l’autoritarisme » est à l’opposé de la démocratie et contre-productif pour promouvoir la coopération internationale si nécessaire en période de crise climatique, d’augmentation du niveau d’inégalité, la pandémie de Covid-19 et l’accès inégal aux vaccins entre pays en développement et pays développés.

La protection de la démocratie nécessite plus qu’une simple réforme nationale ou la démonstration que, comme le président des États-Unis, Joe Biden, aime à le dire, « que la démocratie peut toujours être efficace ». Cela nécessite une coopération accrue entre les pays dotés de différentes structures de gouvernance politique autour de la planète.

Le Sommet lui-même devrait être considéré comme le début d’un processus de candidature plutôt que comme constituant d’un nouveau groupe. La variété et la richesse des démocraties dans le monde – qui fondent toutes leur légitimité – créent une opportunité qui peut être exploitée.

Le Sommet devrait donner le ton avec une réflexion introspective sur la démocratie américaine et sur les domaines d’une éventuelle coopération internationale. Cela encouragerait les autres à emboîter le pas. Tout pays qui refuserait d’admettre des problèmes semblerait absurde et s’exclurait des avantages de l’adhésion.