A New Global Revolution of Dignity
5 highlights from Administrator Samantha Power’s speech to reimagine USAID’s approach to supporting democracy
For 16 years, democracy has been in a state of decline around the world. But now, we are at a critical moment to reverse this trend. USAID Administrator Samantha Power delivered a policy address Tuesday at the National Press Club making the case for how the United States and fellow supporters of democracy can unite in the pursuit of a freer, more prosperous world.
Here are five examples from her speech about how USAID will support countries around the world by reinventing the standard democracy playbook.
1. Proving that Democracies Deliver
“We have a massive opportunity before us right now. The evidence we’re searching for, that proves autocracies are weaker and less capable than democracies, is not just in the academic studies we pore over…it is playing out right before our eyes.” — Samantha Power
In her speech, Administrator Power pointed to examples like Putin’s brutal war on Ukraine and the People’s Republic of China’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic to underscore that today, history is revealing that autocracies are weaker, less capable and less able to deliver for their people than democracies.
USAID’s Partnerships for Democratic Development will extend beyond traditional democracy assistance, partnering with reformist governments to integrate democratic practices into development efforts and meet the local population’s most pressing material needs in order to help demonstrate that democracy can deliver tangible benefits.
2. Highlighting the “Bright Spots”
“We must cement progress in democratic bright spots that are out there right now, help people fight digital authoritarianism, and shine a light on the oligarchs and autocrats who hide their ill-gotten gains in dark corners, and do so with great sophistication.” — Samantha Power
In South Africa, democratic elections overcame decades of grinding apartheid. In South Korea, a much shorter but equally devastating war gave way to modern and democratic reforms. And more recently, Moldovan citizens elected their first woman president in 2020 and proceeded to double down on electing pro-democracy and anti-corruption leaders to its parliament.
Instead of watching nascent democracies rise and then falter — think Sudan or many of 2011’s Arab Spring countries — USAID plans to support these budding democracies with actions that will help reformers move quickly and show concrete results. That includes pushing for debt relief, urgent health interventions, a robust social safety net, and an infusion of bureaucratic expertise.
USAID intends to put a spotlight on such democracies and, with our partners, bolster these successes and share the strategies with other countries seeking the same path.
3. Defeating Disinformation with Digital Democracy
“We have to help people fight the digital propaganda and surveillance systems that autocracies and less-established democracies are using to assault citizens both within and outside of their borders.” — Samantha Power
USAID and New America Foundation will convene technologists, academics, civil society experts, and others to develop a Code of Ethics that instructs on upholding democratic values and human rights, and that should be followed by those promoting democracy in the digital sphere.
“The same way doctors pledge to first do no harm, technologists need to develop a shared set of ideals that they hold dear,” she said.
USAID’s new Advancing Digital Democracy initiative and the Coalition for Securing Election Integrity will aim to address this issue as authoritarians are making technology and data a battleground in the struggle for democracy.
4. Supporting Investigative Journalists
“Last fall, we announced the creation of an insurance fund for investigative journalists, Reporters Mutual. What we’ve learned through an actuarial study since the launch is that things were worse than we suspected.” — Samantha Power
Investigative journalists are sued at three times the rate of other journalists, making them uninsurable in the commercial marketplace. USAID is providing expertise and seed funding to launch Reporters Mutual, a global fund to shield investigative journalists from defamation lawsuits. The fund, which will be operational next year, will provide insurance to cover the cost of defending journalists from lawsuits meant to silence their reporting.
5. Reinventing the Playbook
“We must shine a light on the dark corners where corruption thrives and oligarchs hide their stolen wealth. …This new reality requires USAID to transform its anti-corruption work to be savvier and be less siloed by country. We are building coalitions of reformers across borders, sectors, and ideologies.” — Samantha Power
As part of the 2021 Summit for Democracy’s Presidential Initiative for Democratic Renewal, USAID has launched a set of policy and foreign assistance efforts to expand and modernize how the United States bolsters democracy, defends human rights, and fights corruption abroad.
And the Agency is developing a Dekleptification Guide — a handbook to help countries make the difficult transition from kleptocracy (defined as a government that uses corruption to gain and wield political power) to democracy. Drawing from examples in Romania, Dominican Republic, and South Africa, the guide will provide advice to reformers on how to root out corruption and implement radical transparency and accountability measures in historic windows of opportunity, making such reforms harder to reverse.
