| | | | Fareed: In Defense of Mark Zuckerberg | | "There is now a growing consensus that American democracy needs to be saved by Mark Zuckerberg," Fareed writes in his latest Washington Post column, amid calls for Facebook to stop running false political ads. "So, let me pose a question: Would everyone be as comfortable if the person deciding what constitutes real news vs. fake news were not Zuckerberg but Rupert Murdoch?"
Given the gray areas of truth in politics, it's dangerous to let Facebook decide on the facts, Fareed writes. It would be better to impose rules on social networks—like the "fairness doctrine" (a former requirement that broadcast networks devote equal time to opposing views) or a ban on microtargeting.
Some Americans "want Facebook to regulate American democracy," Fareed writes. "We need the opposite. American democracy should regulate Facebook." | | If Saudi Aramco's IPO Fails, Where Will That Leave MBS? | | Saudi Arabia's planned IPO for its state oil company, Saudi Aramco, could bring a financial windfall to the Saudi regime, Steven A. Cook writes for Foreign Policy. Estimates indicate the offer (of shares accounting for 2%-5% of the company, it is expected) could net anywhere from $24 billion to $115 billion. That could fuel Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 development initiative, which has stalled.
But there's plenty of risk. For one, new investors may clamor for transparency, limiting the regime's hand in running the company as it wishes. For another, the IPO could fall flat. (Among other factors, Iran's provocations could worry investors and sink the stock.) If that happens, MBS will have to either accept less cash or call off the IPO. Given all the risks involved, Cook finds the IPO to be ill conceived and mostly pursued to boost the regime's image—in other words, all sizzle. | | Even If the Trade War Gets Better, It Will Get Worse | | America's 2020 election year could be rough on international markets, William Pesek writes in the Nikkei Asian Review. Democratic candidates like Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren want to get tough on China, too, though from different angles than those President Trump has chosen—they focus more on labor rights and carbon emissions—and with Trump turning a blind eye to Chinese human-rights abuses, Pesek predicts the contest could turn into a "China-bashing arms race" that will exacerbate the trade war and shake investors.
Even if a small deal is finalized—and even if some tariffs are rolled back, though it's still a question which or how many might go—Pesek predicts the trade war and its effect on global markets will get worse, regardless. | | What Tunisia Can Teach Us About Spreading Democracy | | Tunisia is often cited as the lone victory of the Arab Spring: While Syria and Libya devolved into civil wars, and while autocracy prevailed in Egypt, Tunisians forced aside their longtime ruler, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, in favor of democracy. In a Foreign Affairs essay, Sarah E. Yerkes writes that Tunisia offers some lessons on democratic transitions: "For outsiders, the main takeaway is to keep one's distance at first," she writes. Outside help can be portrayed as meddling and used to discredit pro-democratic activists, Yerkes writes, so it's best for world powers to avoid direct involvement and offer financial help once a transition gains momentum. "Tunisia succeeded thanks not to the presence of a pro-democracy agenda led by other countries but to the absence of such an effort," Yerkes writes.
Another lesson is that things can easily turn either way. Tunisian democracy was saved, Yerkes writes, by a surprise rapprochement between President Beji Caid Essebsi and Islamist leader Rached Ghannouchi—a remarkable turn, "given that Essebsi had served as foreign minister under the regime that had imprisoned and tortured Ghannouchi." Yerkes concludes that "Tunisia's transition could well have failed in 2013" had those two leaders "not put democracy and pluralism ahead of their own political ambitions." | | | | | | |
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