Editorial - October/November 2020
Welcome to the October/November edition of Global Insight. As the clock ticks down to arguably the most keenly anticipated US election in generations, our coverage highlights some of the major issues in play. These include serious questions about Facebook’s tardy response to self-regulation, despite its fast-growing and detrimental influence on democracy; the bidding of Attorney General William Barr on behalf of President Trump, ranking among the clearest manifestations of America’s deviation from rule of law domestically; and the impact of the Trump administration on international justice and accountability as China’s global influence spreads.
Facebook’s role in undermining democracy is well documented. Our technology correspondent, Arthur Piper, notes the amount spent on digital media campaigning has rocketed to an anticipated $1.36bn in the run up to this election, three times more than 2016. Facebook’s move to create meaningful self-regulation to deal with fake news and disinformation is, therefore, welcome. That it’s unlikely to make much impression before the election is inexcusable. See our column ‘Facebook, oversight and the future of social media regulation’.
Our US Correspondent, Michael Goldhaber, has - through his chronicling of the Trump Presidency - virtually written the book on America’s assault on rule of law, both domestically and internationally. His latest in-depth feature zooms in on the US Attorney General. William Barr, perhaps as much as any individual, apart from the President himself, epitomises the apparent contempt for rule of law that has characterised the past four years. It’s not just his attempt to obfuscate the findings of the Mueller report that has made abundantly clear that Barr’s primary loyalty is to the President who appointed him, rather than the American public or the rule of law. See our feature ‘The US Bar versus William Barr’.
Just as there’s a danger of an emerging domestic rule of law void created by the Trump administration, the same can be said internationally. As the US has disengaged from its leadership role in the world, our London-based senior reporter, Jennifer Venis, assesses the implications. See our feature ‘Policing the world in the 21st Century’.
Elsewhere in this edition, we cover the major rule of law challenges for businesses navigating the National Security Law in Hong Kong; the dashing of post-Mugabe hope in Zimbabwe; and the UK government’s apparent militarisation of migration. None of this, we’re aware, makes for particularly easy reading. This is, though, unashamedly serious coverage for our seriously challenging times.