Dinesh Bhattarai

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. took office of the president of the world’s most powerful country - the United States of America - on January 20. It is a day of inspiration for all democrats around the world. It is a day, as the President said, “Triumph of a cause, the cause of democracy.” He has called it “a day of hope” and “renewal.” Irrespective of differences of opinions expressed during election campaign, it has been the long-established practice and tradition in America where competing candidates in elections treat each other with respect and defeated candidates call the winner to congratulate and make concession speech with a pledge to support and wish well in leading the country.
Biden succeeds a ‘populist and nationalist’ President Donald Trump who refused to concede his defeat and did not attend the inauguration of his successor. Instead, Trump talked of stolen-election conspiracy theory and incited a mob culminating in the seize of the Capitol Hill - the seat of American democracy - on January 6, 2021 when the American lawmakers were doing their constitutional duty to finally seal the tally of electoral college votes in vigorously contested presidential election in November 2020. American historian Eric Foner writes, “The events of January 6 are the logical culmination of the disrespect for the rule of law nurtured by the Trump presidency.”
Trump in 2016 appealed to voters with the slogan of “Make America Great Again,” (which was interpreted by some as Make America White Again), weaknesses of globalisation, increasing inequality, and alienation of minorities from the national mainstream. The January 6 storming of the Capitol exposed the erosion of democratic values and norms in recent years. This gave chance to U.S. adversaries to call democracy a chaos and turmoil and US-led democratic system as inherently flawed. China’s Global Times called it a sign of “internal collapse.” Zimbabwe president preferred to portray the seize to call U.S. unfit to lead the world.

Rising illiberalism
Populist and nationalist leaders who come to power through democratic elections are drifting toward illiberalism. They leave an inedible mark on global politics. Nationalism and populism remain a force in global politics with a spectre of creeping authoritarianism. Income inequality, impact of globalisation on jobs and national identity, demographic politics and dissatisfaction with the establishment will generate frictions within nations and among nations. Taken together, these trends make opening to Trump like trends and narcissism. The narcissist brand of politics is seen subordinating “national-security interests to personal political needs,” and target elections, free press and influence even intelligence collection and analysis to suit their likes. They work to demolish the edifice of democracy which they considered as hindrance towards the absolute power.
At the inauguration, President Biden called for unity and put it as “path forward.” He emphasised, “Without unity, there is no peace, only bitterness and fury.” He pledged to renew American core values - dissent peaceably, listen to one another, and said, “Politics does not have to be a raging fire.” On day one, Biden signed a series of executive actions including from lifting travel ban on a handful of Muslim-majority countries, rejoining the Climate Pact to achieving racial equality and canceling construction of US–Mexico border wall. Gordon Brown, former British PM considers “the intertwined triple threats of the pandemic, economic collapse and climate catastrophe,” as the defining benchmarks of 10- or 20-days of the Biden administration.
President’s inaugural message beyond borders said, “We will repair our alliance and engage with the world once again.” As a candidate, he wrote in Foreign Affairs, “… by every measure, the credibility and influence of the United States in the world have diminished ... President Trump has belittled, undermined and in some cases abandoned US allies and partners. He has turned on our own intelligence professionals, diplomats, and troops. He has emboldened our adversaries and squandered our leverage to contend with national security challenges…… He has abdicated American leadership in mobilising collective action to meet new threats, especially those unique to this century. Most profoundly, he has turned away from the democratic values that give strength to our nation and unify as a people.”
Biden presidency seems to be more forward looking and is seen as a “bridge to the future.” He proposes to convene the Summit for Democracy to include civil society organisations from around the world that stand on the front lines in defense of democracy. He reiterated, “We will lead not merely by the example of our power, but by the power of our example.”
The world has moved from the Cold War to unipolar, from global war on terror (GWOT) to great power competition, which is seen in the form of “authoritarianism vs democracy.” Constitutional and moral politics is broken. Identity politics have poisoned the society. Nationalism and populism on both the right and the left appear to be contesting the historical legacy. Pandemic has accelerated the trends of ongoing geopolitical and ideological rivalry. The resilient power of pluralistic society has come under threat at a time when the world is getting more multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual. There are growing challenges of preserving the rich heritage of composite culture and maintaining the unity in diversity. President Biden has recognised the “attack on democracy and on truth” and identified the threat of the rise in “political extremism, white supremacy, domestic terrorism that we must confront.”

Diversity
January 20, 2021 is also the celebration of diversity where all sections of society are equally respected and represented, as exemplified in the election of Kamala Harris – a daughter of immigrants - being popularly elected to the high office of the vice president of the most powerful country. America is a melting pot, guided by the motto of “e-pluribus unum” meaning out of many one. It is democracy that binds all sections of society together, gives voice to voiceless, takes governance closer to the people and creates a sense of belongingness through inclusion.
It is time for all democrats to come together in defense of democracy and isolate anti-democratic elements. Democracy is indivisible and mutually reinforcing. Democrats wanting democracy, democratic institutions and human rights at home cannot ignore the threats to democracies elsewhere. Democrats look to the Biden leadership to provide momentum for a “democratic renewal” and undo the damage done in recent years and restore the credibility and resilience of democratic institutions - the power of American example.

(Bhattarai, Ph.D., is a faculty member of the Institute of Crisis Management Studies (ICMS), Tribhuvan University. dineshbhattarai@tuicms.edu.np)