The coronavirus largely represents an acceleration of existing globalization trends, rather than a complete paradigm shift.
Globalization has fluctuated over the years, but event panelists agreed that the 2007-08 global financial crash marked a turning point and triggered a “slowdown” trend. Falling incomes, rising unemployment and inequality have been fertile ground for the rise of nationalism and anti-immigration rhetoric. One of the most potential shifts to domestic production, which is well underway before the corona virus, may accelerate, as growing obstacles to the free movement of goods, people and capital that underpin globalization. Technology is at the heart of this unilateralism. Over the past two decades, we have witnessed a shift in the global economy from a reliance on tangible assets to intangible assets such as software, which do not require supply chains. complex. The rise of artificial intelligence could also displace cheap labor and boost catering in advanced economies. COVID-19 lockdowns have only accelerated this digitization. Another rise in populism could also be on the horizon, notes the white paper, as millions of people around the world are pushed into poverty. And the reputation of international organizations such as the World Health Organization has weakened, which could further reduce global cooperation.
Added to this is the deterioration of relations between the United States and China and the escalation of the trade war. The resulting uncertainty delays corporate investment decisions and slows down global capital flows which are a key pillar of globalization.
He will classify the world into losers and winners. The best performing countries in the near future are likely to be those that can generate social consensus on policies; small economies protected by large nearby markets such as China or Europe; and countries with solid public finances that can support their domestic economy, such as Switzerland. Exporting countries that cannot rely on domestic markets will be the big losers, like India and many African countries. Oil-exporting countries may also face problems due to growing concerns about sustainability. So-called green policies will become a key differentiator for countries, as will taxation to finance post-pandemic recovery.
Globalization has proven to be a game-changer for the whole world in terms of the mobility of human resources and capital; The flow of people and resources has also made the flow of disease, especially viral disease, through global interconnection. Since the onset of Covid-19 in December 2019 in China, the world has totally changed and this has left strong impacts on global security as states have faced many challenges in the health, domestic and economic sectors. . The Corona virus was first reported in China and later due to the free movement of people across borders and the lack of knowledge about its symptoms and causes, it has spread to almost all over the world and struck states from highly developed states to least developed states and alarmed Global Health and Safety.
According to the World Health Organization, the total number of recorded covid cases is 162,773,940 and 3,375,573 people have died due to Corona. The pandemic has also had a tremendous impact on health systems and a huge burden on the global economy and social configuration and has contributed to changing globalization trends.
Although globalization has ensured economic and cultural growth in the recent past, but as the mobility of people across borders has become easier, the spread of disease has also become easier as the bubonic plague has been transmitted from China to Europe by trade routes and the influenza pandemic spread during World War I due to the movements. armies and the Asian flu of 1957 spread by land and sea. Therefore, the phenomenon of globalization has amplified the global transmission of disease and there is a link between how the close integration of people and the flow of trade and commerce also cause the transmission of disease. The year 2019 proved to be fatal for the whole world as the novel coronavirus (SARS-Cov-2) observed in the city of Wuhan in China spread so rapidly that in March 2020 the WHO declared COVID -19 as a pandemic and as of October 2020, more than 41 million people have been confirmed. cases and 1.13 million deaths have been reported worldwide. The lockdown measures adopted by states to counter the spread of the virus during the global pandemic not only impacted our livelihoods, but also affected the economy in terms of supply and demand, as markets were closed most of the time and slowed economic growth in affected countries. which has reduced trade and increased poverty. As with all forms of volatility, there are both losers and winners, as noted above, and the case of COVID-19 is no different. While globalization can be negatively affected in the form of trade in goods and some services such as travel, other sectors may experience increased demand. More distant forms of work will only stimulate the cross-border flow of dispersed but easily tradable data and professional services. As such, not only the providers of these services, but also enablers such as Zoom and broadband providers will benefit.
In addition, low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan have faced a collapse of health systems. Blockages and restrictions on movement have put pressure on transport systems, resulting in loss of income, disruption of world trade and the shutdown of the tourism sector, reduced production, consumption, employment and supply chain. Globally centralized supply chains in low-labor-cost countries are also challenged by the increased use of robotics and automation, enabling companies to maintain production in relatively expensive countries. COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of automation, as the threat to operations posed by “non-essential†business closures is based on the need to keep people at home. Thus, operations using robotics will be less affected. Ironically, among the countries that have survived this pandemic, many of the best have high levels of robotics use, such as South Korea.
In addition, unemployment has become a major issue with a 14% drop in jobs linked to industry. In addition, it is estimated that over 140 million people around the world face extreme poverty and food insecurity. With the economic system, countries with active corona cases are vulnerable like Ireland, UK and Italy despite having good health facilities. On the African continent, the most vulnerable countries are South Africa and Egypt, In Europe, Germany, Russia and Italy are more vulnerable and in Asia and Oceania, Pakistan, India and Saudi Arabia and Turkey and in America Brazil, Chile, the United States, Mexico and Peru. The Covid arrived in three different waves and posed more challenges for states like India where the entire healthcare system collapsed and people were powerless.
In addition to the health system and the economy, the education sector has been too affected, mainly in developing and underdeveloped states. For example, initially when schools, colleges and universities were closed, students as well as teachers could not immediately adapt to the online mode and this made it difficult to acquire a quality education. Additionally, in states like Pakistan where internet availability is limited and many households do not have internet access, especially in rural areas, education could not be provided through the online. Although studies at university level continued through the online mode, the primary and secondary education sectors were severely affected. And it is clear, that the learning acquired by attending institutions and the learning at home via the online mode are very different and the latter requires a self-regulation which is much less among the young people of today who have various other distractions in terms of electronic gadgets, social media and cell phones.
COVID has become a global problem over the past two years and all states and international organizations have been active to cooperate and raise awareness and have adopted measures that could stop its spread. It touched all states and posed challenges on the economy, health, education and revealed the urgent need to review disaster preparedness and health care systems, as the health care capacities of nations potencies were tested during the pandemic. Developed states like the United States have found it difficult to control the spread of the epidemic and the less developed have been more unable to respond and control the situation. The Covid has not only posed challenges to the economic and health system, but the trends of globalization have also changed. States have adopted counter-strategies where institutions have been closed, closures have been implemented, travel banned, and people must restrict movement.
In short, the Covid has been and still is a challenge facing States and all States and international organizations have cooperated to fight this scourge through research into its causes and effects. The global community has succeeded in producing a vaccine that will control the spread of Corona in the future and generate immunity against the virus among people. The fight against the crown is still here and the future holds the secrets of this global virus that has changed the entire world structure and has posed a challenge to developed and underdeveloped states in the same way no one was prepared for this. deadly epidemic.
We are moving towards a new model of globalization that is more localized, focused on services, less capital intensive and less energy intensive. Globalization will survive the COVID era, but it will be very different.
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