America is back, announces Joe Biden - For India, his stress on defending democracy would be of particular significance

US president identifies defending democracy globally and pushing back the advance of authoritarian regimes among the priorities of his administration

Joe Biden: File picture

Anita Joshua   |   TT   |   New Delhi   |    06.02.21 : US President Joe Biden on Thursday announced that “America is back’’ and identified defending democracy globally and pushing back the advance of authoritarian regimes among the priorities of his administration along with an aggressive approach towards China and Russia besides ending US support for the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen.

“American leadership must meet this new moment of advancing authoritarianism, including the growing ambitions of China to rival the United States and the determination of Russia to damage and disrupt our democracy... We must start with diplomacy rooted in America’s most cherished democratic values: defending freedom, championing opportunity, upholding universal rights, respecting the rule of law, and treating every person with dignity,’’ Biden said in his speech at the US state department.

Apart from China, Russia and Myanmar, Biden did not name any country in particular in the context of his push for democracy.

On China, he made it clear that the US under his watch would take on directly the challenges posed by Beijing to its security and democratic values.

Billing China, the most serious competitor of the US, the US President said: “We’ll confront China’s economic abuses; counter its aggressive, coercive action; to push back on China’s attack on human rights, intellectual property, and global governance.’’

At the same time, he added: “We are ready to work with Beijing when it’s in America’s interest to do so. We will compete from a position of strength by building back better at home, working with our allies and partners, renewing our role in international institutions, and reclaiming our credibility and moral authority, much of which has been lost.’’

Build back better and reinvigorating democracy have been recurrent themes of Biden’s election campaign and the early days of his administration which has focused on mending the damage done by the Trump years to American polity.

For India, his stress on defending democracy would be of particular significance as former President Donald Trump had given New Delhi little grief over increasing signs of departure from constitutional values. While several lawmakers had expressed concern over both the clampdown in Jammu & Kashmir and the enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, the Trump administration did not rake it up suo motu.

India under the Modi government has been falling in global rankings on democracy; the latest being The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index. India slipped two rungs to 53rd position in this index — released earlier this week — because of “democratic backsliding” by authorities and “crackdowns” on civil liberties.

“In India, democratic norms have been under pressure since 2015. India’s score fell from a peak of 7.92 in 2014 to 6.61 in 2020 and its global ranking slipped from 27th to 53rd as a result of democratic backsliding under the leadership of Narendra Modi, a member of the Hindu-nationalist BJP, who became Prime Minister in 2014 and was re-elected for a second term in 2019,’’ the report said.