Corona Crisis: End of World or New World Order?

By: Dr. Shahzad Gill  

From Thucydides’ Melian Dialogue of Peloponnesian War to the advent of bioweapons for the destruction of an adversary; from the unquestioned might is the right approach to the renaissance, rule of law and sovereign equality;  from the rule of international law to the belief in the survival of the fittest, man has made indisputable progress in developing the articles of warfare. War has remained one of the constants of history because no one can underestimate human stupidity that indisputably transcends the national borders.  

The quest of relative gains has created fault lines across the globe. State-sponsored bloodshed, brutality and criminal offences continue to happen across those lines for the pursuit of power. Everyone knows that the road to power is paved with hypocrisy and casualty, but no one regrets the same. Instead, nations interpret the whole scenario in multiple folds of religious propaganda.

when we compare the current happenings to those of WWI and WWII, the post-truth international political narratives and the politics of accusation depict that a third world war is on its way.

The current situation of corona crisis can also be explained by analysing the world in terms of political attitudes of leaders of some of the most powerful states. As a matter of fact, an ultranationalist US President Donald Trump,  an authoritarian Chinese President Xi Jinping and a hyper-nationalist Indian prime minister Narendra Modi do not inspire hope. All these jingoists are not only a grave threat to the liberal international order but are also logically anarchists.

Moreover, when we compare the current happenings to those of WWI and WWII, the post-truth international political narratives and the politics of accusation depict that a third world war is on its way. The US-China cross accusations of responsibility for spreading Coronavirus, a burning Middle East and the struggle for throne at Riyadh may provide fuel to these cross country rivalries and deepen the fault lines.

The crux of the matter is that the world is getting closer to a great war, liberal international order is in jeopardy, a strong hegemonic Islamic-Confucius nexus is emerging and the US influence is on the wane. The globe has survived through the catastrophic nuclear disasters and it would hopefully survive once again. The defeat of corona bioweapon is inevitable, but many of us may perish by the time the world comes to overcome this crisis.   

The only way to mitigate this international crisis is the adoption of a pragmatic and egalitarian approach. Closing the borders is an option but it may lead to an economic recession and obstruction in relief efforts. However, the Chinese president’s call to help others and to lead the world from the front is a big gesture of hope. The US must acknowledge the fact that its hegemonic behaviour is no more acceptable to the globe. The Italian Prime Minister’s call for help, instead of accusing US and China of unleashing biological warfare is a good omen that the world leaders are ready to formulate a consensus-based approach to effectively deal with the Corona crisis.

The writer is MBBS doctor and currently presenting himself as a volunteer at the University of Health Sciences, Lahore.