Back to the complete issue
Tuesday, 7 April 2020

A new world order? 12 leading global thinkers envisage life after covid-19

A new world order? 12 leading global thinkers envisage life after covid-19: The long-term economic and social impact of covid-19 will be profound and far-reaching, likely to deepen existing fissures in our globally interconnected world, says this Foreign Policy piece. The key takeaways:

Globalization will come under fire, with fears about the fragility of global supply chains meaning more reliance on domestic resources. This could mean greater supply stability and a reduction in carbon emissions, but could also bring a rise in protectionism — at least in the short term — as national interests trump European integration, Chinese-American relations, and the commitment to tackle global problems such as climate change.

An inevitable shift away from the US and towards China: US leadership has been tested and found wanting during the covid-19 crisis, and this is likely to accelerate the rise of power and influence in East Asia, particularly China. If the US wants to remain competitive and protect its security, it will firstly need to put aside its trade war and cooperate with China, says Mahbubani, and secondly think in much broader terms than its current strategy of acting alone.

Some small glimpses of hope: Individual and collective examples of human courage, resilience and leadership are the best reasons for hope at a time when fear abounds, says Nicholas Burns. These may be channelled into better healthcare provision, more resilient supply chain models, and a recognition that multilateral collaboration on big, global issues is in everyone’s interests, some of the writers say. Though we are likely to see more sweeping waves of nationalism and great-power rivalry, G. John Ikenberry holds out hope that in time we may also see a countermovement, as in the 1930s and 40s, towards “pragmatic and protective internationalism.”

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.