American President Joe Bidenwho promised to restore American hegemony after the presidency Donald Trumporganizes from tomorrow Tuesday the second Synod for Democracy under its shadow war in Ukraine and concerns about strengthening their power China.

This second session, like the first in 2021, will take place mostly online and will last three days. Biden invited 121 world leaders, eight more than last time.

Moreover, to avoid accusations of American egocentrism, he invited the leaders of Zambia, Costa Rica, South Korea and the Netherlands – as representatives of the continents – to become co-hosts of the summit.

It will bring together officials and civil society representatives to discuss the challenges facing democracy around the world, including in the technology sector, while Westerners accuse TikTok of pandering to Beijing.

Outside the Council Turkey and Hungary

The meeting will begin tomorrow, Tuesday, with an online discussion about peace in Ukraine, in which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will take part.

While Biden kept his campaign promises to host the summit and renewed U.S. ties with many countries, he has also come under fire for working to bring Washington closer to leaders accused of authoritarian tendencies and questionable credentials.

Last year, the US President visited Saudi Arabia and Egypt to participate in COP27 and also addressed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

None of the three countries were invited to the summit, which excluded nationalist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, as well as the leaders of Singapore and Bangladesh.

The State Department declined to specify the criteria by which the invitations were made. “We are not trying to determine which countries are democratic and which are not,” the spokesman said.

Opportunity to get closer to Africa

This year’s session will feature five African countries that were excluded two years ago: Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, Gambia, Mauritania and Mozambique.

The summit will also provide the US with an opportunity to flirt with Africa at a time when China and Russia are building up their presence there.

US Vice President Kamala Harris toured Africa last week, visiting Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia to promote Washington’s positive vision of the continent as “the future of the world.”

^{Source: APE-MEB, AFP.}