Alliance of Democracies

The Alliance of Democracies Foundation (AoD) is a non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of democracy and free markets across the globe. It was established in December 2017 by former NATO Secretary General and former Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen together with businessman Fritz Schur and lawyer Klaus Søgaard.[1]

Not to be confused with Alliance for Democracy or Alliance of Democrats.
Alliance of Democracies Foundation
AbbreviationAoD
Formation2017
Registration no.39209349
HeadquartersCopenhagen,
Denmark
Founder
Anders Fogh Rasmussen (founder);
Key people
Jonas Parello-Plesner (executive director)
Websitewww.allianceofdemocracies.org

According to its founder, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the United States is retreating from the world stage, leaving behind a vacuum that is filled by autocrats like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, and Bashar al-Assad. Democracy is under pressure from protectionism, populism, nationalism, terrorism, and autocracy. Against this backdrop, the Alliance of Democracies foundation seeks to unite world democracies. According to Rasmussen, the new alliance of democracies would not be a new U.N. but rather an organisation that would supplement it.[1]

The foundation runs three programs: the Copenhagen Democracy Summit, the Expeditionary Economics Program, and the Campaign for Democracy.[2]

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit

The Copenhagen Democracy Summit is an international conference which is held annually in Copenhagen during the summer. The summit brings together political and business leaders, including current and former heads of government, from the world's democracies. In parallel, a similar conference takes place every winter in Denver, Colorado, United States.[1] In light of a decline of liberal democracies across the world, the aim of the summit is to be a top international forum for analysis on the security and economic challenges facing the democratic world as well as a forum for analysis on the interplay between technology and democratic norms.[3]

The first annual Copenhagen Democracy Summit took place in Copenhagen on July 22, 2018. Among those who attended were the then-Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Joe Biden, Tony Blair, Stephen Harper, Felipe Calderón, José María Aznar, and Toomas Ilves.[4] A total of 350 participants attended from over 40 countries. One of the publications released at the conference concluded that people's trust in government is lower in democracies than in non-democratic states.[5]

The 2020 Copenhagen Democracy Summit included an intervention by then US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo,[6] former US Secretaries of State John Kerry[7] and Madeleine Albright[8] and the President of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen.[9] In 2021, Zuzana Čaputová, President of Slovakia spoke arguing that democracy needs three basic lines of defence - independent institutions with responsible public officials, active civil society and free media.[10] The 2022 Democracy Summit was closed by former United States President Barack Obama[11] and addressed by Lithuania Prime Minister Ingrida Šimonytė,[12] European Parliament President Roberta Metsola,[13] and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.[14] In 2023, speakers included the newly-elected President of the Czech Republic Petr Pavel,[15] Estonia Prime Minister Kaja Kallas,[16] Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy , NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg,[17] former United Kingdom Prime Minister Liz Truss,[18] and Belarus political activist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

The Expeditionary Economics Program

The Expeditionary Economics Program is rooted in Cold War efforts by the United States to strengthen post-war Europe and create a better economic model than the communist one offered by the Soviet Union.[1] The program supports entrepreneurial projects in developing states, emerging democracies, and post-conflict areas for the purpose of strengthening democracy in fragile states by developing a local economic base.

The Campaign for Democracy

The Campaign for Democracy seeks to connect supporters of democracy across the world and build an intellectual movement for democracy through a network of local associations, online presence, media engagement, and support for dissidents.

On the sidelines of the Copenhagen Democracy Summit Anders Fogh Rasmussen together with Michael Chertoff launched the Transatlantic Commission on Election Integrity, which has Joe Biden, Nick Clegg, Toomas Ilves, and Felipe Calderón among its members. The commission is tasked with bolstering the defences of Western democracies against outside interference.[19]

See also

References
  1. Terp Beck-Nilsson, Carsten (1 March 2018). "Anders Fogh Rasmussen kalder til global kamp for demokrati og frihed". Altinget (in Danish). Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  2. "About the foundation: A non-profit organization founded by Anders Fogh". Alliance of Democracies. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  3. "Democracies facing crisis of faith: survey". Reuters. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
  4. Qvirin Holst, Emma (23 June 2018). "Joe Biden og Tony Blair på besøg i København: Toppolitikere debatterer demokratiets fremtid". Altinget (in Danish). Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 19 July 2018.
  5. Tomarchio, Jack Thomas (5 July 2018). "Making Democracy Great Again". Foreign Policy Research Institute. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  6. Pompeo, Michael (19 June 2020). "Remarks by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo at Virtual Copenhagen Democracy Summit". U.S. Embassy in Iceland.
  7. "Copenhagen Democracy Summit Conversation with John Kerry". C-SPAN. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  8. "Copenhagen Democracy Summit Conversation with Madeleine Albright". C-SPAN. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  9. "President Tsai addresses Copenhagen Democracy Summit via video". Office of President: Republic of China. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  10. "Caputova: Democracy Needs Independent Institutions, Civil Society and Media". News Agency of the Slovak Republic. 10 May 2021. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  11. "Strengthening Democracy in the Digital Age". Obama Foundation. 9 June 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  12. "Prime Minister at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit: this is the '1938 moment' of our generation". Government of Lithuania. 2022-06-10.
  13. "Statement by Roberta METSOLA, EP President at Copenhagen Democracy Summit". European Parliament Multimedia Centre. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  14. "Zelensky addresses participants of Copenhagen Democracy Summit". Ukrinform. 2022-06-10. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  15. Narguet, Guillaume (2023-05-15). "Petr Pavel à Copenhague pour le Sommet de la démocratie". Radio Prague International (in French). Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  16. "Remarks by Prime Minister Kaja Kallas at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit 2023". valitsus.ee. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  17. "NATO Secretary General at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit". NATO. 15 May 2023. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  18. McDonald, Andrew (2023-05-15). "Liz Truss calls for deeds, not words, from West on China ahead of Taiwan visit". Politico. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  19. "Countries team up to save the liberal order from Donald Trump". The Economist. 2 August 2018. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2020-06-23. Retrieved 2020-06-21.
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