The United States, Guardian of the World, Loses Its Luster

Images of the riots at the Capitol threaten to complicate the work of the next administration, forced to walk across a minefield in order to rebuild the country’s credibility on the international stage.

In Guinea, a journalist for the daily online paper Ledjely, Boubacar Sanso Barry, had a good time this week, in the wake of the riots carried out by Donald Trump supporters at the Capitol in Washington, pointing out with a smirk on his face that it is no longer just “in the Third World […] that democracy needs improvement.” According to him, going forward “the eternal lesson givers” should be inspired by the images of the last few days “in order to let go of the arrogance and condescension toward others,” when it promotes the rule of law in the rest of the world.

The evil that has afflicted the United States for the last four years revealed itself in the violence on Wednesday with the attack on the heart of American democracy by Trump’s fanatical supporters, fired up by the American president himself, against an election theft fabricated for months now by the loser. And the damage of this attack, planned while the legislature prepared to ratify Joe Biden’s victory and name him the next president, is likely to be felt well beyond the American Capitol, for a long time to come.

“The riots at the Capitol have certainly changed the image of the United States greatly in the eyes of the world,” Franke Wilmer, professor at Montana State University and a specialist in international politics and political violence, said to Le Devoir. “It could have a very negative impact on American foreign policy in the years to come.”*

Signs of a weakened American status have been visible in the past few days in the statements given by political leaders around the world, ridiculing or deploring scenes that usually come from countries with a democratic past and with political institutions somewhat weaker than those found in the United States.

“The United States has lost its moral authority to preach democracy and human rights to other countries,” Charles Santiago, an opposition lawmaker in Malaysia, concluded when interviewed by The New York Times. Santiago, a defender of human rights, didn’t hesitate to compare Trump to the likes of authoritarian leaders like Hun Sen in Cambodia, or Rodrigo Duterte in the Philippines, before hammering home the fact that when it comes to democracy, the United States is “part of the problem” rather than the solution.

On Twitter, the former leader of the South African opposition, Mmusi Maimane, called for “Americans to respect democracy, to respect rule of law and allow for a peaceful transition to power. … Follow the example of great democratic states like South Africa which respect outcomes of elections,” he said, confirming in passing that four years of Trumpism have indeed turned the world on its head.

“The way in which Donald Trump’s tenure as president has come to an end isn’t surprising,” Howard Lehman, specialist in political science at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, stated to Le Devoir this week. “His politics and his rhetoric were marked by racism, violence and anarchy. Many countries were disappointed by his foreign policies and the images of last Wednesday, although troubling, will not change the perceptions our allies already have of the United States.”* An image that nevertheless threatens to complicate the work of the next administration, forced to walk across a minefield in order to rebuild the country’s credibility on the international stage.

Regaining Moral Integrity

As it so happens, the day before the riots, future Secretary of State Antony Blinken publicly came out in defense of the 53 pro-democracy activists arrested in Hong Kong by the pro-Chinese regime, while indicating that when he officially takes office next Jan. 20, he “will stand with the people of Hong Kong” against Beijing’s attacks on the democracy of the city-state.

A perspective now cautiously expected by the opponents of the Chinese hold on Hong Kong who the next day watched, with sadness, the attack on the Capitol. “The democratic world was weakened” by “a subversion of the will of the people by violence” stated activist Lee Cheuk-yan, who has organized a demonstration in Hong Kong every year to commemorate the call for freedom silence by the Chinese regime at Tiananmen Square in 1989. “[A]nd when that happens it strengthens the hand of authoritarian rulers from all over the world” he said to ABC.

For Wilmer, “The coming days will be crucial for stopping the image of a democratic weakness which the riots at the Capitol revealed in front of the world.” The academic also called for “the Cabinet and members of Congress to invoke the 25th Amendment of the Constitution in order to depose Donald Trump” 12 days before the end of his tenure. The idea is gathering speed among officials in Washington, among both Democrats and Republicans. “His incompetence is a danger for the government and the people,” she said. “His removal will reduce the negative impact of Wednesday’s tragic events,” while announcing a change of tone that Biden has promised to introduce on his first day in office.*

“His government will reconnect with the spirit of previous ones through targets and direct engagement with the world,” Lehman said. “He reported that the United States will reenter the Paris Agreement on climate change, establish a nuclear agreement with Iran and will renew more cooperative relations with NATO and our European allies and renew less contentious business relationships.”*

“For better or worse, the United States remains the only world democracy with the necessary power to influence the international community,” Wilmer said. “It is this leadership that Biden will have to quickly assert, in order to restore confidence in our democracy and in our institutions, both in and outside of the country.” She added: “What has been missing in the past four years is the moral integrity and the political will to exercise this leadership internationally. But that era is coming to an end.”*

*Editor’s note: Although accurately translated, the quoted remarks by Lehman and Wilmer could not be verified.