U.S. "Summit for Democracy"
Futile U.S. Efforts to Dictate Outcome of Crisis of Democracy
- Kathleen Chandler -
The Biden administration organized its virtual
"Summit for Democracy" to coincide with Human
Rights Day, December 10. It was presented as an
opportunity to "bolster democracy and defend human
rights globally." U.S. President Biden said,
"We're bringing together leaders from more than
100 governments alongside activists, trade
unionists, and other members of civil society,
leading experts and researchers, and
representatives from the business community," to
"lock arms and reaffirm our shared commitment to
make our democracies better." These included
various organizations and individuals the U.S. is
already funding and backing internationally, such
as the Community of Democracies and its youth
network. What have always been called
non-governmental organizations are now called
civil society organizations (CSOs).
The fact sheet released by the White House on
December 9 outlines what the Biden administration
has in mind. It says the work to "strengthen
democracy and advance respect for human rights" is
a matter of national security for the U.S. The
fact sheet states: "The Presidential Initiative
for Democratic Renewal represents a significant,
targeted expansion of U.S. Government efforts to
defend, sustain, and grow democratic resilience
with like-minded governmental and non-governmental
partners. In the coming year, the United States is
planning to provide up to $424.4 million toward
the Presidential Initiative."
The U.S., whose democracy is in shambles, speaks
to five areas of work "crucial to the functioning
of transparent, accountable governance." These
are:
- Supporting Free and Independent Media
- Fighting Corruption
- Bolstering Democratic Reformers
- Advancing Technology for Democracy
- Defending Free and Fair Elections and Political
Processes
 The Initiative is a
farce given the current state of U.S. democracy,
widely seen as a failure on every front, not least
of all when it comes to elections. Significantly,
within the U.S. itself what are called the
democratic institutions are no longer able to
resolve the conflicts among the contending forces.
Further, given that the private interests which
have taken over the powers of the state are
global, talk of representing a "national interest"
no longer jives with the reality. Contending
forces are in a vicious fight to claim their
faction represents the national interest and their
rivals are committing treason. Congress is so
dysfunctional it cannot pass a budget, due this
past October, and instead keeps threatening
government shutdowns. Such threats affect hundreds
of thousands of federal workers, seniors, mothers,
children and unemployed who require federal
payments like Social Security to just survive.
The Supreme Court has also been discredited, as
it is seen as a politicized force catering to one
or another vying faction, not only in terms of the
right to abortion but other matters as well. There
are also the conflicts between the states and
federal government, on matters such as immigration
and elections. Then there is the monopoly control
and corruption of existing media, with technology
increasingly used by forces like Facebook and the
government itself to intensify divisions and
inflame passions among the people while justifying
more government violence, including racist
detentions and mass incarceration and more.
It is in this context of the contention among the
ruling factions, the discredited and dysfunctional
institutions, and the increasing claims of the
peoples for their rights and greater control, that
Biden's Initiative is put forward. He is striving
to unite what he refers to as "all of us," behind
the president and across the usual separations
between countries, levels of government, and the
peoples organizing to affirm human rights. For
example, mayors from the U.S. and internationally
were brought together, bypassing state, provincial
and federal level forces. Authorities and their
responsibilities are to be dismissed so as to
"bring together" all those who can be said to have
joined the president's Initiative.
What Imperialists Mean by Supporting Free
and Independent Media
The U.S. Agency for International Development
(USAID) has been assigned as the main instrument
for funding an "International Fund for Public
Interest Media, a new multi-donor fund designed to
enhance the independence, development, and
sustainability of independent media, especially in
resource-poor and fragile settings." Another $5
million is to "launch a Media Viability
Accelerator" to fund "independent media outlets in
both under-developed and more-developed media
markets."
The very idea that U.S. government funded media
is independent shows the kind of challenges facing
Biden's imagination. USAID is notorious
internationally for funding the most reactionary
political forces and undermining the independent
development of economies. Clearly, the issue is
not merely one of funding, but most importantly,
how to establish the various organizational forms,
which are no longer covert but overt, in their
mission to interfere in the affairs of various
countries. Official media have joined the Biden
administration in promoting the likes of the
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and its "civil
society" appendages as champions of human rights
and democracy. Only a severely challenged
imagination and presidency can be so detached from
the reality as to think this will succeed.
The Initiative also calls for "protecting
journalists physically, digitally and legally."
This includes providing those it declares are
journalists with "digital and physical security
training, psycho-social care, legal aid, and other
forms of assistance." Given the starting demand
that all support what the U.S. declares are
"democratic values," it makes any journalist
exposing U.S. crimes of genocide, aggressive wars
and torture while elaborating on rights persona
non grata. This program thus endangers all
those who have hitherto considered themselves to
be bona fide
members of a civil society. Only reactionaries
need apply for jobs and only reactionaries will
retain them. Making sure this is so will be yet
another justification for the U.S. to interfere in
the internal affairs of other countries and to
further fund and provide assistance to those
involved in its efforts at regime change.
The "Democracy Summit" poses the problem of
democracy as being between what it considers to be
the pinnacle of democracy -- the racist misogynist
U.S. system based on oppression and exploitation
and what are called "autocracies." Any discussion
on democracy which goes to the heart of the matter
is taboo. Only disinformation which targets the
striving of the peoples to provide their claims on
society with a guarantee is considered valid.
Fighting Corruption and Bolstering Democratic
Reformers
Under the banner of "Supporting Anti-corruption
Change Agents," to "support and connect
anti-corruption actors across civil society,
media, academia, and labor organizations," USAID
will provide $5 million to promote "protective
measures for whistleblowers, civil society
activists, journalists, and others at risk due to
their anti-corruption work" and $6 million to
"connect media and civil society organizations
with one another."
The claim about protecting whistleblowers comes
at a time the U.S. has successfully secured the
extradition of Julian Assange from Britain to the
U.S. and jailed others who have exposed U.S.
crimes, claiming such acts constitute espionage.
This is a clear indicator of how the U.S. will
decide who is and is not an "anti-corruption
actor," while also using the corruption of USAID
funds to try and unite "civil society, media,
academia, and labor organizations." All had
representatives taking part in the Summit in
various forms.
In addition, millions more will be provided for a
"partnership platform to crowd-source innovative
solutions from businesses, technologists,
philanthropies, and other actors," so as "to
energize and institutionalize existing public
sector anti-corruption engagement with the
business community." It also appears that in the
name of combating corruption, there is an effort
to increase financial control on an international
scale. Fighting corruption with corruption is part
of the arsenal of mafia turf wars which is in fact
what is taking place at government levels in the
U.S. and, by extension, Canada as well. With
reforms and initiatives such as those outlined in
the "Democracy Summit" the conflicts between those
contending for power within the United States can
only pose more dangers to the peoples of the U.S.
and the world.
Institutionalizing the various partnerships and
their integration under the command of U.S.
executive powers are aimed at bringing the
functions of government, the public sector and
"civil society" under the sway of narrow private
interests. Nothing more and nothing less will do
as far as these executive powers are concerned.
This is further evident in the "Bolstering
Democratic Reformers" section of the Whitehouse
fact sheet. The language and demands being made
worldwide for rights is used to confound such
resistance into support for the so-called
democratic initiative. This includes, "Empowering
Historically Marginalized Groups and Ensuring All
Have a Say in Democracy" as well as targeting
women, girls and the LGBTQI+ community. Secretary
of State Blinken put it this way: "the strength of
our democracies depends on their success, and it
depends on getting more young people to join them
-- voting, running for office, getting involved in
civic life, in making our democracies better."
In this vein, there is a "Supporting Activists,
Workers, and Reform-Minded Leaders" section and
one called "Bridging Understanding, Integrity, and
Legitimacy for Democracy (BUILD) Initiative."
"BUILD" echoes Biden's "Build Back Better," and is
openly for purposes of interference to "lay the
groundwork for providing career professionals in
closed political spaces the skills and resources
to navigate democratic openings when they occur."
Another "initiative" has USAID providing $15
million for the "Powered by the People"
initiative, which is specifically designed to
undermine the broad social movements for equality,
justice and rights. It aims to intervene in
"nonviolent social movements by increasing
coordination through exchanges, seed grants, and
engagement with younger pro-democracy actors."
One of the single largest amounts of funding,
$122 million from the Departments of Labor and
State, and USAID, will "establish a Multilateral
Partnership for Organizing, Worker Empowerment,
and Rights (M-POWER)." This is said to "help
workers around the world claim their rights and
improve wages and conditions by strengthening
democratic and independent worker organizations
and supporting labor law reform and enforcement."
Clearly the U.S. fears the growing organized
resistance among workers and their many struggles
for change that seek to resolve the crisis in
favor of the interests of the people. The
hypocrisy and farce is underscored by the millions
of nurses in the U.S. and worldwide who are
demanding safe working conditions and health care
for all and the tens of thousands who have been on
strike. "Labor law and enforcement" have become
non-existent. Far from the aim being one of
empowering the people, it is to create
organizational forms that eliminate existing rule
of law and norms and institutionalize the U.S.
rules-based order where the executive alone
decides the rules. The U.S. working class will
never agree to that, and neither will the peoples
of the world. Attempts to claim that these
measures are an alternative to wars of destruction
and occupation are downright silly.
Advancing Technology for Democracy
Using and restricting the Internet is another
area the Presidential Initiative addresses. This
section repeatedly refers to "realizing the
benefits of digital technologies that support
democratic values and respect human rights, rather
than undermining them." Again, determining who
does and does not do so will be decided by the
executive. Countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Iran
and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea are
already targets which the U.S. claims undermine
"democratic values." USAID is now to provide up to
$20.3 million to "build on programming supporting
open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystems.
This programming will help governments enshrine
democratic principles in their countries' use,
development, and governance of technology, while
empowering civil society, technologists, and the
private sector to encourage the same."
The U.S. is plagued by a belief in its own
superiority. It thus always underestimates the
creativity and abilities of free peoples to
supersede it in many fields.
In keeping with providing yet more justifications
for intervention in the affairs of other
countries, the "Initiative" also calls for
"Defending against Digital Authoritarianism." This
is said to "reduce the potential for human rights
abuses enabled by some dual-use technologies" and
forebodes a vicious war over control of space. As
part of this, at the conclusion of the Summit, the
U.S. together with Australia, Denmark and Norway
announced the "Export Controls and Human Rights
Initiative," directed at all those who do not join
in the U.S. determined "vision for technologies
anchored by democratic values." The four were
joined by Canada, France, the Netherlands, and
Britain. This "Export Controls" initiative is
supposed to address "cyber intrusion,
surveillance, and other dual-use technologies"
that are "misused to stifle dissent; harass human
rights defenders; intimidate minority communities;
discourage whistle-blowers; chill free expression;
target political opponents, journalists, and
lawyers; or interfere arbitrarily or unlawfully
with privacy."
All of it serves to emphasize that the battle for
democracy and the battle of democracy have truly
broken out in all earnest.
Defending Free and Fair Elections and Political
Processes
As with the rest of the "Initiative," the U.S. is
so discredited on the electoral front that few pay
their claims any attention. In fact, most scoff at
them knowing them to be hollow at best.
Nonetheless Biden claims the right to vote, to
vote freely -- is "sacred." He said that "The
right to have your vote counted is the threshold
of liberty for democracy -- for every democracy.
With it, anything is possible. Without it,
virtually nothing is possible." His efforts to
integrate "civil society, media, academia, and
labor organizations" are all aimed at undermining
resistance and institutionalizing rule under
direct U.S. executive powers.
This institutionalizing has USAID providing up to
$17.5 million to establish a "Defending Democratic
Elections Fund to pilot, scale, and apply
evidence-based responses to threats to electoral
integrity and related political processes
globally. This Fund will address issues such as
cybersecurity; domestic and foreign electoral
manipulation; electoral violence, including
gender-based violence; illicit domestic and
foreign political financing; election-related
disinformation; and barriers to the political
participation of marginalized populations."
While this is directed not only to forces abroad
but also within the U.S., it is hard to conceive
how elections, which no longer serve to resolve
conflicts among the contending factions but
instead intensify them, will miraculously now
serve to unite or suppress contending
interests. What is evident, however, is that
within the grand scheme of things $17.5 million is
not a lot of money, which means that countries
such as Canada are expected to use their own
executive powers to impose the same within the
domains that fall within their own purview.
The entire "Initiative" is a crass, as well as
desperate effort to contend with resistance and
the growing rejection worldwide of the existing
Anglo-American liberal democratic institutions. To
achieve this, "two new cross-cutting rapid
response programs" will also be developed.
One, "Demonstrating that Democracy Delivers" for
countries "experiencing a democratic transition,"
will provide $55 million to launch "Partnerships
for Democracy." This is supposed to enable the
U.S. to "surge cross-sectoral assistance to
reform-minded partner governments to assist them
in delivering visible benefits to their
populations in areas such as health care and
education."
The second, said to be for "strengthening rule of
law, fighting corruption, bolstering civilian
security, and promoting human rights," is the
"Fund for Democratic Renewal (FDR)." This
"flexible, rapid-response fund will enable State
Department bureaus and offices" to "respond
collectively and collaboratively to support
partners working on democracy's front lines."
The word "partners" refers to a variety of forces
apart from the existing governments. Their poverty
of thought material is such that every effort is
made to direct attention backwards to Kennedy's
"Alliance for Progress" and FDR's "New Deal." It
is a futile attempt to hide what cannot be hidden,
which is that the security and future of the world
lies in the people's striving for empowerment.
Describing the failure and dysfunction of
U.S.-style democracy and values is a waste of time
and effort. Their claim to provide for the human
rights of the peoples at home and abroad is
hollow. Every effort should be directed at meeting
the demands of the times for the peoples
themselves to govern and decide.
This article was published in
Volume 51 Number 12 - December 12, 2021
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2021/Articles/M510125.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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