But we are in a moment of profound democratic decline around the world. Whether in Uganda, Turkey, the Philippines, Brazil, parts of Europe, and even here in the United States, democratic governments struggle to deliver while authoritarian leaders capitalize on frustrated and polarized populations. This democratic retreat is not happening in isolation. Leaders like Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin harbor other visions of the international order: Instead of democracy, they seek to make the world safe for autocracy. Putin wants a fractured world he can manipulate. But while he aims to burn order to the ground, Xi and his Chinese Communist Party (CCP) are advancing a new sort of rules-based international order in which economic integration and prosperity can coexist with centralized political control (and the brutal repression it requires). Whether it’s Russian-rooted corruption intertwining itself into the US and British financial systems or the CCP’s techno-authoritarianism baked into the apps, networks, and devices used by billions of people around the world, the struggle between democracy and dictatorship is systemic—and it requires collective action. B y Daniel Fried and Rose Jackson. Full Text -> AtlaticCouncil

In the end, much will depend not on the summit itself, but whether the Biden administration uses it as a starting point to actively pursue a democracy agenda, for example by more forcefully speaking out whenever leaders such as Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro embrace authoritarian tactics – and making clear that violations of democratic rule would have concrete consequences for bilateral ties. Unless the U.S. government is willing to do so, the summit’s impact will be negligible. By Oliver Stuenkel. Full Text-> AmericasQuarterly