European leaders are worried about a catastrophe for the democratic community of nations we commonly call the West, The FT’s Philip Stephen writes:
That democracy is in retreat around the world reflects in significant measure the disdain of the leader of the world’s most powerful democratic nation. So this is no time for America’s friends to sit on their hands. Instead, they should be thinking hard about how they could be partners in the effort to restore a rules-based international system — an order that would be rejected most likely by China and Russia, but one vital to preserve the democratic values on which the security and prosperity of the west depend.Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles.
As China and Russia challenge democracy and the canon of Enlightenment texts disappears from university reading lists, Catholic University’s Michael Kimmage says, the idea of the West is not just wavering; it may be doomed.
So this is no time for America’s friends to sit on their hands, Stephens adds. Instead, they should be thinking hard about how they could be partners in the effort to restore a rules-based international system — an order that would be rejected most likely by China and Russia, but one vital to preserve the democratic values on which the security and prosperity of the west depend.
