Introduction: post-COVID transformations

ABSTRACT

This article provides an introduction to the special issue on post-COVID transformations. We raise three sets of questions relating to the implications of the pandemic for the sustainability of the present global political and economic system and the extent to which that system may as a result be undergoing transformation. First, what is likely to be the impact of the pandemic on the current global order based on neoliberal hyperglobalization? Second, what insights do earlier pandemics along with other inter-related crises such as those of climate, inequality, social reproduction, and continued fallout of the global financial crisis offer for understanding the medium- to long-term implications of COVID-19. Finally, the special issue seeks to address the question of the extent to which the COVID pandemic may lead to progressive political transformations. We conclude with a summary of each of the individual contributions to this special issue.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• global transformations
• hyperglobalization
• inequality
• crisis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://covid19.who.int/.

2 Covid-19 Government Response Tracker. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/research/research-projects/covid-19-government-response-tracker.

3 Goldin, I. COVID-19: How rising inequalities unfolded and why we cannot afford to ignore it. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/covid-19-how-rising-inequalities-unfolded-and-why-we-cannot-afford-to-ignore-it-161132.

4 Freedom House. Special Report 2020: Democracy under lockdown. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://freedomhouse.org/report/special-report/2020/democracy-under-lockdown.

5 Nuclear Threat Initiative and Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Global health security index 2019: Building collective action and accountability. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.ghsindex.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-Global-Health-Security-Index.pdf.

6 Statista. Coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths worldwide per one million population as of February 10, 2022, by country. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/.

7 BBC News. (2021, December 23). Global Covid vaccine rollout a stain on our soul – Brown. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59761537.

8 The Economist. (2021, March 27). As the pandemic rages on, so do protests about it. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2021/03/27/as-the-pandemic-rages-on-so-do-protests-about-it.

9 Nakhaie, R., & Nakhaie, F. S. (2020, 5 July). Black Lives Matter movement finds new urgency and allies because of COVID-19. Retrieved February 24, 2022, from https://theconversation.com/black-lives-matter-movement-finds-new-urgency-and-allies-because-of-covid-19-141500.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kevin Gray

Kevin Gray is a Co-Editor of Globalizations and is a Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex. His research relates to East Asian political economy, rising powers, labour and social movements, and democracy.

Barry Gills

Barry Gills is an Editor-in-Chief of Globalizations and a Professor of Global Development Studies at the University of Helsinki. He has written widely on World System theory, neoliberalism, globalization, global crises, democracy, resistance, and transformative praxis.