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The pandemic continues to affect the entire world. Moreover, it does not privilege any country, any individual, by reminding us that we are on the same ship, even it is sad. The comparative advantages of neither countries, international organizations, nor individuals are being discussed anymore. Almost every country, especially the USA, China, Iran and Italy, show similar reflexes, experience the same dead ends, feel the same concerns and strive for the same purpose.
International organizations / constitutions are not in the arena or even if they are, their voices are too weak. It seems very clear that the existing institutions of the global system are caught unprepared for the threats faced.
The same is true for societies and individuals. Meeting “this” side of life at an unexpected time created the effect of a car that going at full speed then breaks suddenly. The fact that an invisible virus targets and threatens each of us, regardless of race, language, religion, gender, age, authority, status, reputation, and welfare level, has changed our perceptions. Seeing that individuals show similar behaviors (accumulation in markets, attempts to escape from quarantine, posts from social media, home concerts, campaigning efforts to combat the outbreak, etc.), wherever in the world, the “humanity” common denominator has meanings far beyond the predictions for all of us.
At the point we have reached today, many people now state that “nothing will be like before the corona pandemic”.
For many of us, it is not difficult to guess that the current indispensable internal reckoning, confrontation, and self-return triggered by the outbreak will not be permanent. Do we not see “wise shares” and “competitive and ego interactions at the center” even in today’s conditions in which life is under first-degree threats? Therefore, it is likely that after the corona pandemic, most of us will quickly forget what we have experienced today and return to the previous life. Again, they will return to life where they will not have time to read books, watch movies, be with their family and friends. Also this time compensating the break caused by the pandemic by being visible, much more working, getting more income, etc. with even more effort.
Well, most of us are planning such a quick return to life after the corona pandemic, but will he find life as he left it? No. The answer is no, but it is not easy to say anything positive or negative about what kind of a life will be encountered today. Apart from the life threatening feature of the pandemic, we will experience many economic, social, political short, mid and long-term positive and negative effects on an individual, social, national and global scale. Applications that bring radical changes in our current business practices such as distance and digital education in schools and academy, digital banking transactions and e-commerce, distance / home / flexible working models have already become an important part of our lives. Work life and mentality of all of these, employment etc. its effects will be inevitable.
The answer to the question of how the world will be after the corona pandemic contains even more unknown. There are different expectations in this context. It is agreed that the corona pandemic is an important break for the world and an important catalyst for changing the existing system. Time will show how a break and system change will occur.
Before the corona epidemic, we have frequently talked about a world where liberal system and globalization are questioned, where it is difficult to talk about collective security and common interests among countries, global values are eroded, nation-state-centered policies are accelerated, multilateralism is losing momentum, nationalism is increasing and digitalization is becoming widespread. In a world where uncertainty was so strongly felt, we underlined that global actors need to produce and use new policies, new methods of implementation and new tools of diplomacy in order to increase their ability to adapt to the current situation.
The corona epidemic once again sparked similar discussions, and it is clear that the same debates and inquiries will continue even more intensely after the pandemic. Even the main motto of the pandemic to be “the pandemic is global, the struggle is national” summarizes the situation clearly.
The pandemic affects almost every country in the world. Countries are trapped inside, often having to take care of themselves. It is not yet possible to talk about a serious international common struggle. Many global, regional organizations or constitutions related to the subject, especially the UN, are not yet included in the process, or their competencies and activities remain limited, unable to produce solutions to address the problem. However, in a very short time, in the fight against the pandemic, the necessity of transforming the international cooperation, which started with the transfer of knowledge and experience for the first time, will surely arise. Because we all know very well that the end of the pandemic, which is one of the borderless problems, in a country, will not be enough to make the world a livable place, the borders cannot remain closed forever, and that we must take care of our global common living spaces together.
Do we encounter a completely different world after the corona pandemic, and whether this completely different world will be better or worse than the world we are in now, it is hard to guess. However, there is a clear message of all these uncertainties… It is time for inevitably deeper questioning of the many concepts, elements and actors of global governance.
