Can Covid-19 be a new incentive for more international cooperation and multilateralism?

By Michaela Sehorz, 2nd place at Alumni Blog Award

With a range of unilateral actions, the withdrawing of some countries from international organisations and rising nationalism, multilateralism and international institutions are facing a world-wide crisis since years. In the midst of declining international cooperation, we are confronted with a virus spreading all over the world. The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic and its manifold impacts have clearly unveiled the weak points of our international system. In stark contrast to the interlinked and increasingly globalised pre-Covid-19 world, across the globe countries went into lock down, closed their borders and isolated their citizens. Nationalist policies flourished all over the world. At the peak of the pandemic, in spring 2020, there was no serious effort for coordinated global actions for months. International organisations, especially the WHO, faced a divided world, with sharp accusations against its efficiency and partisanship being raised. However, diplomats across the globe agree that we should see the pandemic as an opportunity for a more cohesive world because once more Covid-19 has proven the need for deeper global and cross-national cooperation mechanisms.

The beginnings of globalisation and multilateralism

Since the 1970s the world was becoming increasingly connected through trade, investment, travel, and information. Globalism envisioned a world moving towards the adoption of a unified set of rules and standards in economics, politics, and international relations. This growing international interconnectedness was not without its flaws. Only this level of globalisation made it possible for a virus, originally from a Chinese province, to spread across the whole globe. In the fear of losing the support of their own citizens, national state forces started to attack other countries and blamed globalism for the situation. Had the international elites been more ambitioned to tackle the spreading of the virus together, I believe they would have been more successful in containing it. In the first weeks of the new disease it seemed like countries had forgotten the multilateral fora they had created especially for times international threats.

Since the dawn of mankind, human beings have always sought to cooperate. But it was not until the end of the Second World War that political leaders realised the much-needed establishment of multilateral institutions, which enshrined global rules of cooperation. The organisations, which were established back then, helped lay the ground for today’s world order. In Europe, the most important international organisation is the European Union with multilateralism lying at the core of its identity. With the accession to this union, national states have lost a part of their sovereignty, but some are trying to regain it or even left it, like Great Britain did with Brexit. During the outbreak of the current pandemic almost all member states took unilateral actions and put national interests first.

Current crises

Globally, one can observe a growing trend towards the withdrawal from international treaties and commitments. The first election and possible re-election of Donald Trump as US president, who had repeatedly questioned the value of multilateral organisations such as the UN, NATO, WTO and lately WHO, has led to even greater preoccupation about the future of global governance. Things look no brighter in Europe, as recently illustrated by disputes over a common rescue package for Europe’s economy or closed borders since the outbreak of the corona pandemic. However, what is causing this global turn against multilateralism? Some observers point to increased polarity and fragmentation in world politics: the growing East/West division, the rise of populism together with nationalism, and an increasingly assertive China. Another argument points to the fact that many organizations are failing to deliver on their declared goals. And sadly, the latest efforts of international organisations in tackling the pandemic fell short of expectations.

Future prospects

The future of the global world order as we know it will be influenced by the re-emergence of China as a major power on the world stage, despite its image loss as country of origin of Covid-19. According to recent economic forecasts, China will be among the few countries with moderate economic growth, while most other countries face a severe regression. Not only in the area of global health, but also in geopolitics, there are likewise significant common interests. But in my opinion the gravest threat to world peace comes from non-cooperation between state actors and rising nationalism. Hence, states need to act collectively in order to tackle challenges like global diseases, terrorism or climate change. The world’s democracies should be mounting a collective defence of liberal values, human rights and effective crisis cooperation. In my opinion, the Covid-19 pandemic shows that states need to cooperate even more. In this sense, Covid-19 can be seen as a chance for a reformed multilateral system in the future, including the United Nations itself.

However, not only states need to take action. We all are responsible for our planet and many threats can only be tackled if civil societies are involved as it is illustrated by the current corona virus pandemic. Each and every one of us is responsible for events that happens in other parts of the world. Besides, industrial countries should take a more holistic approach and not only think about their citizens. The whole world must be provided with healthcare, medical equipment and with vaccine doses in the future.

Conclusion

COVID-19 is a unique situation insofar as practically all governments worldwide have to deal with the same problem. Unfortunately, the situation has not created more solidarity among states, but less, until some state actors realised the urgent need of cooperation. The current pandemic is a global crisis and as such an important case to put effective multilateralism into practice as modus operandi for how states can respond globally to such a challenge. Hence, the pandemic is also a test for the weak multilateral system, which was established in the last century and proved not to be effective enough in overcoming the hybrid challenges of our modern times.

I strongly hope that diplomats across the world will work together to use global structures, capable of not only reacting, but taking the lead and developing guidance on how to weather the current storm and similar threats the whole world will be facing in the future. In an ideal world, we would take the current pandemic as proof of the need to deepen the fora we have or even create new ones in an ever more connected world. Especially young people working in international institutions or diplomatic organisations should help to demonstrate the weaknesses of the current system and build resilience for future challenges. It is our generation of young diplomats, who can bring a cosmopolitan perspective and new incentive for international cooperation to our institutions.

Only if all involved actors strongly believe that the world is better off with more internationalism, we can change the current system and tackle future global challenges more effectively.

In the final analysis, I argue that multilateralism, tough facing a legitimacy crisis, is still functioning and will continue to do so. Take the exchange of intensive care beds in the current pandemic among some European countries for example. In the midst of the ongoing global corona crisis, politicians realised the need to unite, coordinate and cooperate more than ever; the framework of multilateral institutions proved to be the best way to do so, but urgently needs some improvement.

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in these blog are those of the individual involved and do not reflect official policy or position of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Montenegro and its Diplomatic Academy.