The State of Democracy

By David Cheng

            Last week, President Biden carried out his constitutional duty to report on the State of the Union to Congress. While he, as most presidents do, used most of his time to tout his accomplishments and express his hopes for future legislation, the significance of his speech stretches far beyond that. 

            The United States is not the world’s best democracy, but it is perhaps the world’s most important democracy. As we have seen with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the other democratic nations of the world will follow where the United States leads. Therefore, the State of the Union is not just about the health of the American nation, but the strength of democracy worldwide. In 2016, America elected a populist and authoritarian demagogue, resulting in the alienation of the EU, the emboldening of autocrats in other nations, and a severe decrease in American influence around the globe. With the current administration, the United States has gained back much of that lost ground. 

            In the opening remarks of his address, Biden made sure to emphasize that while American democracy was tested by the events on Jan. 6 two years ago, it had emerged “unbowed and unbroken.” He also sent a clear message to autocratic adversaries like Russia and China by mentioning that Republicans and Democrats came together in support of Ukraine and Europe in the face of Russia’s unlawful invasion. For the sake of global peace, we hope that leaders like Putin get it through their heads that the U.S. is not backing down. We also hope that they know the United States is not planning on allowing any more foreign interference in its elections, and that their chance of influencing it has passed. The Democratic Party is united in support of democracy both at home and abroad, and the Republican Party, however slowly, is starting to see the foolishness of continuing to support former President Trump (if only for selfish reasons). The electorate soundly rejected extremism at the ballot box last November, and there’s every reason to believe it will do so again in 2024. 

            President Biden concluded by reporting that “the State of the Union is strong.” We concur. Though the nation has suffered repeated blows from extremism, it is rapidly regaining its strength. Indeed, the state of global democracy is also getting stronger. Brazilians rejected Bolsonaro and voted for Lula. Czechs turned away a pro-Russia populist and elected Petr Pavel. Just days ago, Cyprus elected a centrist pro-European president and rejected the candidate supported by a far-left Eurosceptic party. While democracy can be eroded, it can also be rebuilt and reinforced. All that was lost to the tide of authoritarianism can be won back if we fight as hard as we can.