The Capitol Hill crowds slandered by the president and his associates gave the United States an unfathomable international embarrassment that was a gift from his opponents – one they were too eager to exploit. As packets of rallies chased the halls of Congress, and shortly after the violence was suppressed by law enforcement, the chattering classes concluded that the events of the day had paralyzed American world leaders.
The president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haass, wrote on Twitter that it would be a long time before Washington “can read to others that they are not stable enough to have nuclear weapons.” The Washington PostKaren Attiah was equally pessimistic, reflecting her message that currently seems to be the general thinking among opinion makers: ‘When the President of Zimbabwe asks America to fail to moralize about democracy in other countries, you know [sic] a wrap. ‘
These observers and others rightly testify to the damage it has done to the advancement of American democracy efforts and the gift it has given to foreign authoritarian regimes. The exact extent of the damage has yet to be seen. It depends on how – and whether – Americans rectify the evils that are causing the chaos and confront the political forces and disinformation epidemic that are making it possible. In the short term, however, these efforts must be accompanied by a powerful refutation of foreign authoritarian attempts to seize the moment.
In the aftermath of the storms of the Capitol, there was a clear difference between the good-faith international reactions and the efforts to arm the crisis into anti-democratic goals. U.S. allies responded with a mixture of shock, expressions of confidence in U.S. institutions and the president’s condemnation. They have not enlarged American democracy by the depth it has plunged this election season, but by the standard of the example set by the United States historically.
French President Emmanuel Macron recorded a short video address: “What happened in Washington today is definitely not America.” “Democracy in the United States must be upheld – and it will be,” assured Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The British Boris Johnson calls it ‘essential that there be a peaceful and orderly transition’, and the Japanese government said in a statement that it ‘hopes’ for one. Some were more pointed. Former European Council President Donald Tusk has warned that “Trumps are everywhere”, and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has issued a plea: “Dear @realDonaldTrump, recognize @joebiden as the next president today.”
The difference between the world’s democrats and its autocrats could not be sharper. Just take the tweet that Attiah mentioned, posted by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa:
Last year, President Trump imposed painful economic sanctions on Zimbabwe, citing concerns about Zimbabwe’s democracy.
Yesterday’s events showed that the US has no moral right to punish another nation under the guise of maintaining democracy. These sanctions must be ended.
Then he congratulated Joe Biden on his victory and offered the friendship of the Zimbabwean people. Of course, the US still has the moral authority to encourage respect for human rights in the country. Mnangagwa, who ousted Robert Mugabe in a 2017 coup, has a brutal record similar to that of the infamous dictator: Security forces in the country continue to use indiscriminate violence against innocent protesters, who arbitrarily torture and imprison them rape. The New York Times reported last year that his “opponents now fear he is more dangerous than his predecessor.”
What about American opponents with more global influence? While statements from Beijing, Moscow and other capitals seem to illustrate the tension in the democratic tradition of America, the primary response to these messages should be ridicule if any attention is paid to them. And they certainly do not provide propaganda that can convince anyone who has not taken for granted what these governments have to say.
The Twitter account of the Global Times, a Chinese state-run pony newspaper, used the incident to draw an equivalent between the Washington riots and the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement, and compared photos of the Washington riots to those of the occupation of the Hong Kong legislature by protesters in 2019. According to regime propagandists, if figures like Nancy Pelosi and Mike Pompeo condemn the riots, they must also condemn the pro-democracy movement (which falsely silences the Chinese Communist Party with separatist, terrorist and otherwise violent intentions). A GT article quoted Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying as saying: “Many Chinese netizens wonder why some politicians and the US media have reacted so differently to a similar situation.”
Only these situations were not similar. Hong Kong’s democrats are against an aspiring totalitarian regime that is engulfing the democratic practices promised by the city. This points to this simple truth, especially in the wake of the police attacks in Hong Kong this week, which swept more than 50 politicians who are subject to democracy for their participation in a by-election for legislative elections. The Capitol rioters tried to undermine a legitimate election result that withstood numerous legal challenges by opposing the law.
Other examples abound. The statement from the Venezuelan government said that “with this unfortunate episode, the United States is experiencing what it has generated in other countries.” Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif wrote that he had “done much worse with our people – and others” for the past four years, referring to the sanctions campaign that targeted Tehran’s support for terrorism and nuclear aspirations. The Russian UN ambassador happily compared the passing of the Capitol to Ukraine’s Maidan protests, which overthrew Viktor Yanukovych, the strong Kremlin-backed strongman. It is hardly necessary to point out that these are regimes that regularly suppress peaceful protests and then retaliate against those who seek justice. The current unrest gives them an easy message to convey – but it remains fundamentally ridiculous.
The immediate response must therefore be to discredit foreign propaganda and expose the anti-democratic motives behind it. However, this alone will not be enough. Messages for an international audience to protest against measures to punish human rights abusers are less likely to sway people than similar messages designed for domestic consumption, which could undermine the efforts of pro-democracy forces in those countries. The actions of the president and the gangs of the Capitol have given them a news cycle that speaks volumes about everything from Beijing’s Hong Kong repression to Iran’s obstruction of the investigation into the civilian plane hijacked by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards last year. taken over Tehran.
There is little doubt that this assault on the peaceful transfer of power is likely to have serious consequences for global credibility unless the downward spiral slows.