What the new world order will look like, post-COVID-19

The world is witnessing unprecedented times, as the whole world is grappling with the onslaught of a virus. Not even the best of minds are aware of the treatment or the prevention in terms of a vaccine or a medicine. These extraordinary happenings will definitely impact the world order. The contours of this change will be worth examining. The society at large will undergo a change, hopefully for the better. Human relations will improve. People will realise how little they need. They will realise the value of family, family time, being with their children, parents, etc. People who provide essential services, whom we always took for granted, will get their rightful place. More importance may be given in future to personal hygiene. The economic impact of this war against the coronavirus is going to be unimaginable. The reason is that almost the whole world has become involved in this war. Most economic activities have come to a halt — including tourism, the hotel industry, the service sector, rail and road transportation, aviation, the automobile sector, textiles, real estate, etc. [caption id=“attachment_8229221” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AP[/caption] It is also not clear when these industries will resume functioning. We also do not know how many people will lose their jobs in the unorganised sector. Many economic institutions have predicted a recession. Putting the economy back on track will be a herculean task. The role of most of the regulatory bodies, and even the United Nations, has not been up to the desired levels. These institutions were unable to guide the world on how to tackle coronavirus. These bodies may need to be restructured. The representation of countries like India will need to be given due thought. How can the largest democracy of the world, with 1/6th of the world’s population, not get its due place in the new world order? The old system, in which authority in terms of global affairs is vested in only a few, will need to change. No one country can negate a rightful decision of the majority by exercising its veto power. Post COVID-19, a new leadership in the world will definitely emerge. In the past, after the First World War, Woodrow Wilson emerged as leading the international community to the right path. Thereafter, Franklin D Roosevelt played a leading role in guiding the destiny of the world during and after the Second World War. The establishment of the World Bank, IMF and the all important United Nations were the significant institutions that came up under the guidance of Franklin Roosevelt. However, the UN and the WHO have lost credibility during this crisis of combating COVID-19. On the other hand, India, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has guided various countries, the regional forums like SAARC and even asked for a meeting of G20, which the countries like USA, UK, Germany and Saudi Arabia immediately accepted. In such a war, no one can claim to be the winner. Everyone has lost something, and therefore, is a loser. There is a view, however, in some quarters that China has won the Round 1. It is strongly felt that this belief is misplaced. China in fact, has lost a lot of its social, economic and political standing. It is being blamed for creating the problem, number of responsible countries have even gone to the extent of blaming China for spreading the virus. China is on the defensive. Further, China has also been blamed for sending substandard and used PPE kits, ineffective chemicals and sanitisers materials to countries who were buying them from China. The credibility of China is at it’s lowest ebb. Japan, Australia and many other countries have decided to move their industries out of China. There is a mass movement across the world to discard the Chinese goods. Xi Jinping is quiet, even facing internal crisis. The unethical practices, of China to take advantage of the terrible situation prevailing in the world, have come under tremendous criticism. India has shown compassion, togetherness, bonhomie collective security, and humanitarian cooperation by sharing with the world the drug hydroxylchloroquine (HCQ) on humanitarian grounds.. It is clear that there is going to be a realignment of the world order once we have successfully combated the coronavirus. India has shown the world the value of ethics, knowledge, sharing and above all the honesty and integrity in leading from the front in crisis situations.​