President Biden has promised a Summit of Democracies during his first year in office. It will aim to shift his China policy from inconvenient trade disruptions to the high-minded plane of democracy and human rights, rope in the US allies to bolster an otherwise weakening effort and weaponized democracy in a new way. It will no longer be just a pretext for military actions abroad but also make the defence of democracy at home – against ‘Russian interference,’ ‘Chinese propaganda’ and the like – a security issue. Expect bonanzas for the military-industrial complex, particularly its information/disinformation technology companies.
