Geopolitics

It’s globalization, but not as we know it. The outlook for sustainable globalization.

Some commentators predict the end of globalization, while others hope that life after COVID-19 can return to business- as-usual. Neither approach is realistic. When the pandemic subsides, economic globalization will continue, but not as before.

That is the headline suggestion from Julie Bishop and Anthea Roberts who see the opportunity for a more “Resilient and Sustainable Globalization”. Bishop and Roberts warn that the biggest risks ahead are either an over-correction or under-correction in the degree of globalization in response to COVID-19.

The pandemic has provided the opportunity to reset some economic approaches in a way that maximizes the chances of developing this more resilient and sustainable approach. What is needed is a more measured, calibrated approach that involves both domestic and international levels.

It can no longer be assumed that a single country will step in and take responsibility for global leadership. Instead, the onus will be on cooperation among states, with a focus on those that have shown the best means to address the pandemic.

Bishop and Roberts suggest it is incumbent on these nations to step up and work out what global cooperation looks like in the absence of great power leadership.