Citation

World Affairs 2021; 184(1): 4-7.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, World Affairs Institute, Publisher SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/0043820021992208

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

I write this editorial five days after events occurred in Washington, D.C., that shook the foundations of American democracy. After a pro-Trump rally, thousands stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021, showing an unprecedented contempt for democratic institutions that many have attributed to incitement by the president’s speech (cf. Chaggaris 2021; Savage 2021). At least five people lost their lives as the mob descended on the Capitol, broke into the Senate Chamber, ransacked offices, and occupied the U.S. seat of power for several hours. This followed weeks of false allegations by the president and his aides that the election had been stolen. Naturally, what is at stake concerns the United States’ internal democratic character, institutional functioning, and socioeconomic, political, and racial divisions. It also concerns the country’s strength and international standing as a bastion of democracy, as well as its future ability to use that standing to further its own national interest and the promotion of democratic rights globally.

The riot inspired disbelief and condemnation around the world from state leaders and spokespersons of democracies and nondemocracies alike.1 Some have predictably seized the opportunity to leverage their own interests in the face of U.S. instability and perceived weakness—trouncing the lack of genuine moral global leadership that the rhetoric and conduct surrounding the 2020 U.S. election has exposed. Others have, equally predictably, condemned such contempt for democratic institutions and the politics of hatred and falsehood. But they have done so while also bolstering their commitment to the common goods of democracy—and their belief that the U.S. system is strong enough to overcome the last dark months with its democracy intact. In the aftermath of the riot, there is much to reflect on concerning the critical issues it has raised regarding democratic values, impeachment, trust and mistrust in democratic institutions, moral authority and global leadership, American exceptionalism, and the effects of domestic politics on foreign policy, among many others. Over the coming months, I especially invite your submissions in these areas and the questions for democracy they entreat ...

Language: en