Mishandling of COVID-19 Pandemic: A Challenge to the International Order
Dana Mohammed Danish Aladdin Sajadi
International Relations and Diplomacy Department, Faculty of Administrative Sciences and Economics, Tishk International University, Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq.
Correspondence: [email protected]
Abstract
The paper examines the mishandling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the extent to which it had affected the international order, particularly where it exposed the contradictions, injustices, and fragility of the order. The sacrifices needed to be made by the great powers were not made during the pandemic for the international system to maintain its balance and provide the support needed by the global south, as many of the weaker states found it difficult to survive, while elitism on the part of the global north had its day. The paper, through the document and thematic analysis, found that the marketization of the international system has impacted the ethics of life and death, deciding who is to live and who is to die, when and even how. Another key finding is the depiction by COVID-19 of human hierarchies that the liberal international system fails to consider, thus challenging the claim that sacrifices are made in support of the system by the developed world. In the previous context, the paper recommends that the current international order should be restructured to address the lopsidedness, gaps, and inequalities to make the world balanced and more just, in accordance with liberal norms and values.
Keywords: COVID-19, International Order, Neoliberalism, Liberal Norms, Pandemic
Download the PDF Document
Doi: https://dx.doi.org/10.23918/ejmss.V2i4p44
Published: May 1, 2022
References
Barnett, M. (2021). International Progress, International Order, and the Liberal International Order Michael Barnett. The Chinese Journal of International Politics, 14(1), 13-14.
Boyeong Hong, B. J. (2021). Exposure density and neighborhood disparities in COVID-19 infection risk. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Braun, V. & Clarke, V. (2006). ‘Using Thematic Analysis in Psychology.’ Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 2: 77 -101.
Callaway, E. D. (2020). The Coronavirus Pandemic in Five Powerful Charts. Nature 579.
cbpp. (2021). Tracking the COVID-19 Recession’s Effects on Food, Housing, and Employment Hardships. Retrieved from center on budgent and policy priorities : https://cbpp.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/8-13-20pov.pdf (March 25, 2022)
Davis, M. (2020). the monster enters. Retrieved from NEw left review : https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii122/articles/mike-davis-in-a-plague-year (April 15, 2022)
Deneen, P. J. (2018). Why Liberalism Failed. USA: Yale University Press.
Edward Livingston, M., Angel Desai, M. M., & Berkwits, M. (2020). ourcing Personal Protective Equipment During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Farmer, P. (2004). An Anthropology of Structural Violence. Current Anthropology Vol.45.
Fassin, D. (2020). An Unprecedented Health Crisis: Didier Fassin on the Global Response to the Covid Pandemic. Retrieved from Institute for advanced study : https://ias.edu/ideas/fassin-covid-global-response
Fouskas, V. K. (2020, may ). COVID-19 and the bankruptcy of neoliberalism in the context of Global Shift. Retrieved from open democracy : https://opendemocracy.net/en/can-europe-make-it/covid-19-and-bankruptcy-neoliberalism-context-global-shift/ (April 20, 2022)
Frieden, J. (2006). Global capitalism – Its fall and rise in the Twentieth Century.
Fu, D. (2020, may). China Has a Playbook for Managing Coronavirus Chaos,” Foreign Policy. Retrieved from https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/05/05/china-coronavirus-chaos-playbook-stability/ (April 22, 2022)
Harvey, D. (2005). A Brief History of Neoliberalism. England: Oxford University Press.
IKENBERRY, G. J. (2018). The end of liberal international order. International Affairs.
Ikenberry, J. (2011). Liberal Leviathan: The Origins, Crisis, and Transformation of the American World Order.
MacIntyre, C. R. (2014). Efficacy of face masks and respirators in preventing upper respiratory tract bacterial colonization and co-infection in hospital healthcare workers. . Preventive Medicine.
Max Fisher, E. B. (2020). As Coronavirus Deepens Inequality, Inequality Worsens Its Spread. Retrieved from The New York times : https://nytimes.com/2020/03/15/world/europe/coronavirus-inequality.html (April 22, 2020)
McLellan, R. K. (2017). Work, Health, And Worker Well-Being: Roles And Opportunities For Employers. Health Affairs.
OSHA. (2007). Employer Payment for Personal Protective Equipment; Final Rule. Retrieved from united state department of labor: https://osha.gov/laws-regs/federalregister/2007-11-15-0 (March 20, 2022)
Peter Mathias, N. T. (2008). History of humanity: scientific and cultural development, v. VI: The Nineteenth century. UNSCO .
Ridgwell, H. (2020, 06 22). Poverty Dramatically Increases COVID-19 Death Risk, Researchers Say . Retrieved from Voice of America: https://voanews.com/a/covid-19-pandemic_poverty-dramatically-increases-covid-19-death-risk-researchers-say/6191556.html (April 19, 2022)
Ruggie, J. G. (2009). Multilateralism: the anatomy of an institution. England: Cambridge University Press.
Scott, D. (2020, may). Thousands will go uninsured in the Covid-19 outbreak because Republicans rejected Medicaid expansion. Retrieved from https://vox.com/2020/5/5/21247204/coronavirus-unemployment-medicaid-eligibility-health-insurance (April 20, 2022)
Smith, A. (1776). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell
Sunders, Lewis & Thornhill, (2015). Research Methods for Business Students. London: Pearson Education.
Thériault, A. (2022). Ten richest men double their fortunes in pandemic while incomes of 99 percent of humanity fall. Retrieved from Oxfam International : https://oxfam.org/en/press-releases/ten-richest-men-double-their-fortunes-pandemic-while-incomes-99-percent-humanity (April 23, 2022)
Todd Pollack, G. T. (2021, march). Emerging COVID-19 success story: Vietnam’s commitment to containment. Retrieved from our world wide in data: https://ourworldindata.org/covid-exemplar-vietnam (March 20, 2022)
Williams, D. (2018). Liberalism, Colonialism and Liberal Imperialism . East Centeral Europe, 45(1): 94 – 118.
World meters . (2022, january ). Retrieved from https://worldometers.info/coronavirus/ (April 20, 2022)
World101. (2020). Eighteen Ways COVID-19 Is Reshaping the World,” Council on Foreign Relations. Retrieved from World101: https://world101.cfr.org/global-era-issues/covid-19/eighteen-ways-covid-19-reshaping-world (April 23, 2022)
Visits: 59