One of the pillars of Biden’s election Manifesto for the presidential nomination was the promotion of democracy at home and abroad. ‘’Democracy doesn’t happen by accident. We have to defend it, fight for it, strengthen it, and renew It’’, he argued. True to his word, the United States hosted the first of two Summits for Democracy, last week, on December 9–10, 2021. The virtual summit brought together leaders from government, civil society, and the private sector from more than 100 countries to deliberate on the three themes of defending against authoritarianism, addressing and fighting corruption, and advancing respect for human rights.
The message behind the first-ever conclave of democracies was- Democracy needs to be rescued from the rising trends of authoritarianism through collective effort. Indeed, there was ample evidence about the backsliding of democracy. Multiple independent assessments by global non-profit organizations like Freedom House, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance and V-Dem, this year show that democracy is regressing in many countries across the globe particularly in Africa.
For Africa, Democracy is more an aspiration than a regular state of affairs. The democratic retreats are more prevalent than democratic successes. The surviving few democratic systems in Africa further weakened with the onset of COVID-19. The Covid period saw a number of military revolts against civilian leadership in countries like Guinea, Sudan, Mali, etc. Several African presidents have become adept at manipulating constitutional clauses and electoral processes to get their term extended. The data from Afrobarometer, show that these power grabs were against the majority will of their population.
Among the 17 African nations who got invited to the summit are nations like Ghana, Senegal, Botswana, Mauritius, Cabo Verde, and Zambia regarded as the continent’s democratic examples. The US allies like Kenya, South Africa, and Liberia also made to the list. The controversial invitees include leaders from Niger, Angola, DRC, and Nigeria raising questions about the criteria for selection. Leaders from Mali, Guinea, Chad, Sudan, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, and Egypt were excluded for obvious reasons of human rights abuses and electoral malpractices.
While the concerns about the ailing health of democracy have been genuine, Africa’s participation in the Summit has raised some pertinent questions
Africa needs to draft a transformative agenda for promoting democracy. The survey by Afrobarometer shows that Africans firmly believe in the strength of democracy and aspire for it as the best route to prosperity and development but are disillusioned with elections that fail to check their leaders from clinging to power. The forum should facilitate a commitment from the long-serving African leaders to an exit strategy.
Economic inequality is the key reason for the weakness of democracy. Therefore, addressing threats to economic and financial integrity is central to a strong democracy. Africa has seen the rise of the activist generation over the last two decades. The youth, women, and other change-makers have taken to the streets to challenge corrupt leaders who squander their national resources. It is important to give political entry for the youth and women, who are driving entrepreneurship, technological innovation, and the creative industry. Efforts to reduce the gap between the political insiders and the political outsiders will reduce conflicts on the streets.
The doubts about platforms like this are on the efficacy of the international system in enforcing democracy through external interventions. Introspection on the flaws that weaken the democracies, a mechanism to acknowledge shortcomings to learn from each other, etc were lacking at the Summit.
The themes of the Summit are not new for Africa. They have already been adopted by the African Union and regional bodies like the Economic Community of West African States but with mixed results. The need of the hour is to sustain the pressure and push the agenda forward together.
These international platforms have limited utility and Africa should develop its own strategy for course correction rather than turning to international Summits to seek solutions. To quote Ghana’s independence leader Kwame Nkrumah the continent should “face neither east nor west” but face forward.
