Fortunately for President-elect Joe Biden, who wants to hold a global summit for democracy in his first year in office, the United States has squeaked through the most acute test of its democracy in modern times.

The idea of the summit, according to his campaign manifesto, is to "bring together the world's democracies to strengthen our democratic institutions, honestly confront the challenge of nations that are backsliding, and forge a common agenda to address threats to our common values".