Aftershocks: Pandemic Politics and the End of the Old International Order
Thomas Wright and Colin Kahl detail the COVID-19 pandemic as the greatest shock to world order since World War II, with millions infected and killed, the worst economic crash since the Great Depression, and international institutions and alliances already under strain before the pandemic now teetering while the United States and China are careening toward a new Cold War.
The COVID-19 crisis is the greatest shock to world order since World War II. Millions have been infected and killed. The economic crash caused by the pandemic is the worst since the Great Depression, with the International Monetary Fund estimating that it will cost over $9 trillion of global wealth in the next few years. Many will be left impoverished and hungry. Fragile states will be further hollowed out, creating conditions ripe for conflict and mass displacement. Meanwhile, international institutions and alliances already under strain before the pandemic are teetering, while the United States and China, already at loggerheads before the crisis, are careening toward a new Cold War. China’s secrecy and assertiveness have shattered hopes that it will become a responsible stakeholder in the international order.
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