US looks for united front in second Summit for Democracy
US President Joe Biden
The United States opens its second Summit for Democracy on Tuesday where it will be seeking a united front against authoritarianism in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war and China launching the diplomatic offensive.
US President Joe Biden had taken the office with a pledge to champion democracy and made a good start in the first year with the inaugural summit which was aimed at reaffirming the leadership of the country after the democratic norms were eroded by his predecessor Donald Trump with the attack on the Capitol.
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This year, considering the concerns about too much US navel-gazing in the first edition, Biden has brought in co-hosts on each continent - the presidents of South Korea, Zambia and Costa Rica and the prime minister of The Netherlands.
In total, 121 leaders have been invited by Biden for the three-day summit, which will mostly be held virtually.
The summit is taking place as threats to democracy evolve "from what was seen as an important issue, albeit sort of a slow-moving threat, to one that is now both important and extremely urgent," stated Marti Flacks, director of human rights initiative at Centre for Strategic and International Studies.
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The session will bring together representatives of civil society for discussions on various challenges to democracy which include surveillance technology, which has been seen as a growing threat by the United States as China continues to make rapid advances in technology.
"In the absence of pending congressional action in that space, it is important that the administration is engaging bilaterally with other countries and also with companies on voluntary actions that can be taken in the interim," Flacks added.
The summit will start on Tuesday with a virtual conversation on the issue of peace which will feature Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
(With inputs from agencies)
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