Mediaboss Marketing

Data: U.S. State Department; Map: Madison Dong/Axios Visuals

President Biden declared at this week's Summit for Democracy that the tide is turning in the global struggle between democracies and autocracies.

Driving the news: In drawing up invitations, though, Biden had to make some awkward calls as to which countries fall on which side.

Flashback: Biden set himself up for a headache when he raised the idea of a democracy summit on the 2020 campaign trail.

Yes, but: Sensitive to the perception that the U.S. is holding itself up as a lone paragon of democracy, the administration invited Costa Rica, the Netherlands, South Korea and Zambia to co-host the mostly virtual event.

No leader is going to fundamentally change their behavior just to earn an invitation to a virtual summit, but the gatherings could provide a useful platform for civil society, says Marti Flacks, director of the human rights initiative at CSIS.

The bottom line: While the pros and cons of holding these summits are much debated, Bidens broader claim about the global democratic trajectory isnt unfounded. In its annual report on the state of global democracy, Freedom House described 2022 as a possible turning point.

See original here:
Who's in and who's out at Biden's democracy summit - Axios