Democracies Must Work Together in the Fight Against COVID-19 by THOMAS E. GARRETT
The United States and its global allies are facing summit is projected as an opportunity to reset the unprecedented challenges to democratic governance U.S. as a global leader within the multilateral system. in 2020. Few are spared from traditional issues like And Johnson’s D-10 idea was offered with a focus voter apathy and legislative gridlock or more recent on discussing 5G mobile networks and strengthening problems such as the heavy flow of migrants or foreign vital supply chains. election interference. But the To these challenges fact that so many democracies must now be added another in so many places are dealing matter of major global with the same concerns at the concern requiring democratic same time means there’s an solidarity — the COVID-19 unprecedented opportunity pandemic. Although the novel to work together on shared coronavirus is not confined solutions. by any border or particular In the U.S., the idea of political system, it undeniably democratic nations working burst onto the scene from a together has long had bipartisan non-democratic nation, China, appeal. The late Senator John whose initial reaction was McCain called for a “League to devote considerable state of Democracies” during his resources towards silencing 2008 run for president. This those who sounded the alarm. year, a plank in Joe Biden’s In response to the virus, Thomas E. Garrett presidential campaign not every democracy has platform raises the idea of a performed successfully, and summit of democracies. Other not every authoritarian system A study of epidemics democratic nations are keen has failed. The U.S., for for something similar. When example, has struggled, while between 1960 and 2019 in President Trump mentioned Vietnam is tackling the crisis the June 6 edition of The his interest in expanding the effectively. But resiliency Economist found there to G-7 meeting to include Russia, and an ability to self-correct the proposal was greeted through constitutional be a correlation between unenthusiastically. U.K. procedures and access to lower death rates and Prime Minister Boris Johnson freedom of information and countries where the basic proposed instead a “D-10” opinion are hallmarks of gathering of democracies, democracy that are essential tenets of democracy are which would add Australia, to overcoming a crisis. And firmly in place. India, and South Korea to while data on COVID-19 is the existing G-7 (but exclude still being collected, a study of Moscow). epidemics between 1960 and The objective of each of these proposals was for 2019 in the June 6 edition of The Economist found democratic states to take coordinated action when there there to be a correlation between lower death rates was a threat to the rules-based international order. and countries where the basic tenets of democracy are McCain’s “league” was meant to act when China or firmly in place. Russia vetoed U.N. Security Council action on human “Most data suggest that political freedom can be rights or Western security issues. Biden’s democracy (Cont’d on page 26) 24
RIPON FORUM August 2020
