In Europe, Biden鈥檚 battle for democracy is no longer just a slogan
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Howard LaFranchi Staff writer
When President Joe Biden laid out his vision of a global battle to save democracy at the Munich Security Conference in February 2021, his call for democracies to join together to 鈥渇ight for, 鈥� strengthen, and renew鈥� their governing principles struck many as just another intellectual flourish.
And when the newly inaugurated president added with confidence that 鈥渄emocratic partners working together鈥� would be able to 鈥渕eet every challenge and outpace every challenger,鈥� the assumption in his audience was that the central challenger he referred to was China.
As Mr. Biden travels in Europe this week, he is encountering a continent stunned by the war unleashed in its midst by a powerful autocrat against a fledgling democracy. Many on both sides of the Atlantic say Russian President Vladimir Putin鈥檚 war on Ukraine gives urgency and new meaning both to the battle for democracy and the need for U.S. leadership.
Why We Wrote This
President Joe Biden鈥檚 challenge is right in his rhetorical wheelhouse: provide U.S. leadership, unite allies, and defend democracy under siege from an autocrat. The reality of war adds urgency to the test.
Moreover, a rising chorus of voices now say that the stakes in the 21st century鈥檚 first war for democracy are such that Western and other democracies cannot afford to lose it. And that means, some add, that Mr. Biden is going to have to take greater risks to ensure that Ukrainians鈥� aspirations for the freedom to determine their own future are not defeated.
鈥淲hen President Biden first talked about his vision of a confrontation between autocracy and democracy, for many people it sounded a little bit theoretical,鈥� says Michal Baranowski, senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund of the United States and director of its Warsaw office. 鈥淏ut now we in Europe are experiencing a real front in that war,鈥� he adds, 鈥渁nd that gives a very clear and understandable reality to this existential fight [Mr. Biden] has been talking about.鈥�
In Brussels Thursday, President Biden attended an emergency summit of the leaders from NATO鈥檚 29 member countries that included participation via videoconference of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. That was followed by a gathering of G7 leaders that Mr. Zelenskyy also addressed, and a European Council summit bringing together the 27 members of the European Union.
For some analysts, the very high stakes and existential dimension Mr. Biden has assigned to the battle embodied in the Ukraine war mean that the president鈥檚 trip to Belgium and Poland has to do more than show moral support.
鈥淚n many respects what is happening now in Europe vindicates Biden鈥檚 view of this central confrontation of democracy and autocracy, but the fact he is proving to be right only underscores that his trip needs to be more than symbolic,鈥� says Rosa Balfour, director of Carnegie Europe in Brussels.
鈥淲e need strategies on where to take this crisis next and how to address the many challenges we鈥檙e going to face going forward. But this kind of global thinking belongs more to the U.S.,鈥� she adds, 鈥渟o there is a need for U.S. leadership.鈥�
More than a show of solidarity
As others see it, a trip that many analysts characterize as a defining moment in Mr. Biden鈥檚 presidency could end up a disappointment if it fails to move beyond symbolism.
鈥淭his should be a moment for rallying and reinforcing European democracies, but [Biden is] going to need to do more than that,鈥� says William Galston, a democracy and governance expert at the Brookings Institution in Washington.
Noting that 鈥渢his is not too early to begin serious discussions about how this war could end,鈥� he adds that 鈥渋f Biden doesn鈥檛 move the discussion forward, some people will wonder why he bothered to make the trip.鈥�
Others agree, saying the president has to go beyond a show of democratic solidarity to specifics.
鈥淚f Biden is only looking for spiritual unity from this trip 鈥� it will look like a bust,鈥� says Stephen Sestanovich, senior fellow for Russian and Eurasian studies at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.
鈥淭he big test for Biden鈥� will be 鈥渢o make sure the policies of democracies work,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚f Biden is able to make progress on operational unity, 鈥� the trip can come off a success.鈥�
The back-to-back NATO and EU summits are intended to demonstrate Western unity in opposition to Russia鈥檚 aggression 鈥� and to underscore Mr. Putin鈥檚 isolation. However, some point out that the world鈥檚 democracies are not fully in line 鈥� with India, South Africa, and Brazil among those remaining on the sidelines.
On Friday Mr. Biden travels to Poland, where he will meet Saturday with Polish President Andrzej Duda as well as visit U.S. troops who have been deployed to NATO鈥檚 eastern flank. Humanitarian groups will also provide him an on-the-ground look at Poland鈥檚 widely praised efforts to welcome millions of Ukrainian refugees.
On Thursday the U.S. announced it will accept 100,000 Ukrainian refugees and provide an additional $1 billion to help Europe meet its largest refugee surge since World War II 鈥� moves designed in part to convey solidarity and a sense of burden-sharing with Europe.
At the same time, the U.S. announced $320 million in new funding to launch the European Democratic Resilience Initiative, intended to 鈥渟upport societal resilience and defend human rights in Ukraine and neighboring countries,鈥� according to the State Department.
Bipartisan pressure at home
Still, in the days leading up to his European trip, Mr. Biden faced mounting pressure 鈥� from both sides of the aisle in Congress and from a growing number of national security experts 鈥� to do more to support Ukraine鈥檚 military in its existential fight and to worry less about how stronger U.S. assistance might provoke Mr. Putin.
If Mr. Biden is serious about his campaign to strengthen democracies, some say, he cannot start that battle by allowing a European country to lose its sovereignty and its right to self-determination.
鈥淭he United States should recognize that excessive fears of provoking Putin were the primary reasons Western capitals withheld vital defense assistance from Ukraine for so long,鈥� says Bradley Bowman, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies鈥� Center on Military and Political Power in Washington.
Faulting that 鈥渞eticence鈥� for increasing the likelihood of aggression, Mr. Bowman adds, 鈥淲e should spend more time in the future helping beleaguered democracies before invasions and less time worrying about provoking authoritarian bullies.鈥�
Indeed, even as Mr. Biden departed Washington, a rising chorus was calling for more and bolder steps to thwart Mr. Putin and support Ukraine.
On Thursday NATO leaders approved doubling the number of troops stationed in the Alliance鈥檚 eastern flank and committed to providing special equipment should Russia resort to chemical warfare, as it did in Syria. Also Thursday, G7 leaders approved a new round of sanctions on Russia.
A push for MiGs
Yet even as the first weaponry from Mr. Biden鈥檚 $800 million arms package began arriving in Ukraine this week, some are insisting that more can be done to help the Ukrainian military.
For example, some say Mr. Biden should reconsider his opposition to Poland鈥檚 proposal to transfer MiG fighter jets to Ukraine.
鈥淭he White House has never adequately explained why [the MiGs] are more 鈥榚scalatory鈥� than the other anti-aircraft weaponry we are providing,鈥� says Brookings鈥� Dr. Galston, who was a senior aide in the Clinton White House when it addressed the Balkan wars in the early 1990s.
Mr. Biden should either 鈥済o public鈥� with the explanation for why the jets would be particularly provocative for Russia, he says, 鈥渙r the president should say 鈥業鈥檝e changed my mind鈥� and include the MiGs in a package of measures designed to raise the ante with the Russians and get them to accept a cease-fire.鈥�
Yet even if Mr. Biden manages during his brief European trip (he returns to Washington Saturday) to secure measures that move toward a cessation of fighting, some analysts caution that the broader 鈥減ost-post-Cold-War鈥� challenge European democracies face will not evaporate with the end of Russia鈥檚 war on Ukraine.
鈥淩ussia鈥檚 revisionist ambitions under Mr. Putin to reconstitute the former Soviet Union are not just about territory but as much about defeating the principles, including democratic governance, that have guided transatlantic relations and the European security order鈥� since World War II, says Carnegie鈥檚 Dr. Balfour. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why this war is not just about Ukraine but about preserving those principles and people鈥檚 right to choose them.鈥�
Noting that the Western conception of democratic freedoms and human rights has proven to be a central target of Russia鈥檚 aggression, she says it is 鈥渃ritical鈥� not only for Europe but for the world鈥檚 democracies that resolution of the war focus 鈥渘ot just on a state security dimension but a human security dimension as well.鈥�
