Opinion Analysis by Roa Daher, Staff Writer

June 2nd, 2020

Ever since the COVID-19 outbreak was announced to be a pandemic on the 11th of March this year by the World Health Organization, many have taken the liberty to declare the death of globalization at the hand of the pandemic. This, however, seems to be a trend, where new global crises are proclaimed to bring the end of globalization, but that has never really materialized. To understand why, one must examine the process of globalization and its evolution throughout history.

Manfred Steger, a professor of sociology at the Univerity of Hawai’i at Manoa and famed global studies scholar, defines globalization to be the following [1]:

Globalization refers to the expansion and intensification of social relations and consciousness across world-time and world-space.

The aforementioned definition allows some flexibility in the historical discussion around globalization. After all, many believe that globalization is a new phenomenon, brought about by technological developments like WiFi and social media.

Yet, globalization has been present for thousands of years; historical events like the discovery of agriculture, the rise and fall of empires, and the formation of states and international organisations like the United Nations are all evidence that globalization predates contemporary times. Thus, this shows that globalization is a much older process than may have been previously thought, and so it does not come with a clear date of birth nor of death.

Instead of thinking about globalization as an entity that encounters death, it is more accurate to describe it as an ever-evolving cyclical process that experiences expansions and contractions. This behaviour can be noted in the rapid intensification of globalization seen before 1914 and the subsequent slowing down that occurred from 1914 to 1945 due to the World Wars [2].

Additionally, to take on a more modern example, events that have happened in recent years like Brexit and the resurgence of right-wing nationalist populism, as can be seen by the election of Modi and Trump, could be indicative of a new phase of contracted globalization. When the President of the United States attacks free trade and preaches protectionist policies, then it becomes clear that there is a shift in global interdependencies.

It could even be argued that a new phase of contracted globalization was brought about by the Global Financial Crisis of 2008 , which had devastating and long-lasting consequences on the global financial community. Now with the appearance of the COVID-19 pandemic, a period of contracted globalization has been confirmed, rather than the reductive ‘demise of globalization’.

As the number of articles proclaiming globalization as ‘dead’ increase, it becomes clear that the actual topic being discussed in such articles is specifically economic globalization. While the importance of the economic dimension of globalization should not be underestimated, globalization should not be simply reduced to economics because there are other aspects of globalization that include the cultural dimension, concerned mainly with homogenisation, and the ecological dimension which examines the damage caused to the environment because of globalization.

Therefore, does the announced ‘death of globalization’ immediately halt cultural exchanges that happen across borders through social media? Does it stop the environmental degradation caused by industrialisation and other processes propelled by globalization? The complexity of globalization and the vast arena of subjects that it touches should not be reduced to just the economy.

COVID-19 has not killed globalization; in fact, it has kickstarted a process that has been slowly in the making for the past five years. With flights suspended, mandatory lockdowns imposed, and millions of jobs lost, it is predicted that we will be entering the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression [3]. Governments are scrambling to put together stimulus packages to save small businesses which have been hit very hard by the restrictions. After decades of a global shift towards neoliberal economic policy that condemns government spending, we find ourselves once again in a crisis that can only be mitigated by government spending; the gaping holes in healthcare industries, specifically public healthcare, have been exposed by the pandemic as it continues to claim hundreds of thousands of lives. Amidst all this, one thing is for certain: the much-awaited return to normal will not happen as COVID-19 continues to expose issues in the pre-pandemic world order.

However, despite the all-too-clear negative consequences that COVID-19 carries, including the scary prospect of a ‘new’ normal, the message here is one of hope. The pandemic will not kill globalization. Instead, it will help us move towards a better and fairer globalization. In the same way that the world overcame the Great Depression, the pandemic and the resultant economic downturn will be overcome. If anything, with the present global interconnectedness, infrastructure, and modern technological innovation, the recovery from COVID-19 will happen even faster. 

As we enter this period of contracted globalization, it is important to shed light on the positive influence that globalization has had, as can be seen by organizations, such as the WHO stepping up in times of crisis and paving the way for the best possible international pandemic response. The only way out of this crisis will be on a path of global cooperation, facilitated by and impossible without globalization.

1. Steger, M. (2017). Globalization: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press.

2. Swanson, A. (2016, December 29). The world today looks ominously like it did before World War I. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/12/29/the-world-today-looks-ominously-like-it-did-before-world-war-i/

3. Rappeport, A. & Smialek, J. (2020, April 14). I.M.F. Predicts Worst Downturn Since the Great Depression. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/14/us/politics/coronavirus-economy-recession-depression.html