Today, the world is standing on the verge of another major transition of political, social, and economic upheavals. The unpredictability and uncertainty are driving everyone to perceive the upcoming future. Everyone is worried about how this pandemic is going to reshape the world as the world is witnessing a major crisis, from tumbling markets to falling global order. Many researchers have forecasted the post-pandemic world order, but whatever they all have predicted, all these predictions have one thing common and that is “The post-COVID-19 world will not be as same as before”.
Outbreak of COVID-19 and its upsurge has inflicted the world’s economy besides the loss of countless lives. The fall in the global economy is estimated to be 30 percent in 2020. This hard hit of pandemic has implications beyond the health and security sectors. Moreover, this health crisis along with economic crash is global so do its impact.
Let us examine two possible Post-Pandemic scenarios.
One scenario is that nations will isolate themselves and focus on internal conducts disregarding the crisis of the outside world. The revival of the “Realism” paving the way for Nationalism and Ultra Nationalism. The idea of “We first”, likely to gain a foothold as issues like health care and economical decline will hold black investments. The crash in world Tourism and Airline industries is going to be a major factor in shaping this world view. Moreover, Singapore, Malaysia Australia and South Korea’s smart dealing with virus has shown that the nation-states are only the authority which can protect its inhabitants from its foes, real or imagined. This will tempt nations to play a glaring role in regional politics to secure their uncertain future.
The second scenario shows us the opposite picture where globalization is having an equal pace. Many predicted the fall of the Liberal World order with this pandemic gaining roots in world affairs but thanks to technological advancement which has shrunk the time and space. This enables nations to trade, on the other side of the hemisphere, in minutes and hours versus days and months, so the nation-states borders are causing little inconvenience to globalization. Conversely, this plague has already trigged the global solidarity among nations, as China is already playing a major role, towards globalization, by providing medical aid across borders. These alternatives depict that we can cooperate at national as well as global levels at the same time. This is now on the world powers, corporations, and policymakers to carve out realistic policies to deal with the aftermath of Covid-19.
Author: Aeyza Arif
About Author: Author is Undergraduate student of Political Science from QAU.
Contact: [email protected]
Edited By: #SnakeHunter (Editor PSF)
Note:The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Pakistan Strategic Forum.
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