An Opposing Position

Political scientist Iurii Mavashev on why the Summit for Democracy is pointless and even dangerous.

U.S. President Joe Biden’s initiative to bring the supposed democracies together on Dec. 9-10 creates mixed impressions among international affairs experts. On the one hand, according to Washington, it is possible and even necessary to forget that in addition to the 92 invited countries, 110 were overlooked. One should also remember that it was the American leader’s campaign trail promise to hold such an event. Furthermore, who cares that there are 193 member states in the U.N., an organization which the U.S. once created? After all, the hosts are obviously more concerned with the demonstration of power, the authority of the American side that still wants to lecture the world about “democracy.”

Fortunately for the U.S., it does not need to put much effort toward that goal, given that so many states suffer from international-political amnesia. As such, many are ready to start from scratch at their own expense. Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya — what happened to these countries when the U.S. began to talk about the issues with democracy, tried to “fix” the situation on its own and left ruins behind? But we did not understand because, supposedly, “that was different!”

On the other hand, it is equally clear that the White House, by and large, can no longer offer anything to the rest of the world. The ideological vacuum and mutual distrust, much of which the U.S. has contributed to, has caused the world to dig in and fence off. As such, “democracy” is the last thing on its mind. Hence, Washington decided to act. And there is no denying that something constructive from the U.S. would be welcome.

However, the recent statements by Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Dec. 7 about the alleged threat and aggression from China in Taiwan and Russia in Ukraine hardly establish common ground for a constructive dialogue. Meanwhile, the September 2021 emergence of AUKUS, a trilateral defense alliance between the U.S., U.K. and Australia that is openly directed against Beijing, leaves no doubts that the proverb “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” is fully applicable to the Summit for Democracy.

Among the post-Soviet countries, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia were invited. And here, of course, lies an attempt to contrast these states with those not invited to the summit. First, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and other Eurasian Economic Union countries. By the way, Yerevan could have refused this “honor,” at least for the sake of political consistency, since Armenia is also a member of the EAEU and the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization.

Thus, the U.S. perceives Russia, China, Turkey, Iran, Azerbaijan and many other international players as second- or third-world countries. It is fair to note, however, that America’s allies in the Middle East — Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia — were also not on the guest list.

After all of this, should the American media be surprised that Moscow and Beijing have signed a road map to develop military cooperation from 2021 to 2025 and are seriously discussing the prospect of joint space exploration, including through military channels? It could hardly be otherwise.

Washington’s division of nations into “democratically comprehensible” and “authoritatively incomprehensible” gives flashbacks to the sadly similar events of the 1930s and 1940s. The only difference is that the divisions were made along racial lines back then. And the bombs, by the way, are still falling on the heads of the “unfree,” just as before.

In the foreseeable future, these processes could lead to the end of a world order dictated by one power. In fact, by pitting the states against one another, the U.S. is simultaneously throwing some international players under the bus of others.

It is not hard to guess what conclusions America’s military allies in the Middle East who have been left out — Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia — might draw. Will the only two countries in the region that accepted the invitation to the summit, Israel and Iraq, be able to live in an atmosphere of trust with their neighbors? How will the EAEU and CSTO countries look at Armenia — their partner? Unfortunately, this seems to be of little concern to anyone.

Neither do the hosts care that, by inviting Taipei, the Americans are fanning the flames of the most explosive conflict in Asia, which could lead to World War III: the confrontation between China and Taiwan.

Now, every country has the moral right to form any alliance, including a defensive one. However, with its actions, the U.S. is destroying the entire order of international relations that has developed since World War II. Undoubtedly, this time, the order will eventually collapse on the U.S. itself.

The author is the director of the Center for Modern Turkey Studies, Moscow, Russia. The author’s opinion may not reflect the views of Izvestia’s editorial board.