An Emerging New Alliance of Democracies

There may be new a kid on the bloc in 2021. This week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson indicated that he will travel next month to India with a grand project in mind. Following on comments made earlier in the year, Johnson intends to invite the leaders of India, Australia and South Korea to the 2021 summit of the Group of Seven nations, which Britain is hosting. For Johnson, it’s an early occasion to show that, even without the umbrella of the European Union, post-Brexit Britain can still be a global player — in this instance, by working “with a group of like-minded democracies to advance shared interests and tackle common challenges,” according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

For months, President-elect Joe Biden has talked about the need to reinforce America’s traditional alliances in the West, strengthen liberal democracies around the world and confront autocrats and illiberal strongmen. Now, we’re seeing a glimpse of what those efforts may look like. Even though President Trump at times championed greater coordination among “like-minded” democracies, implicit in the new discussions is a rejection of his administration’s wrecking-ball approach to foreign affairs.

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