In The News

Future of Globalization: Foreign Policy

Henry Farrell and Abraham Newman July 7, 2020
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed society’s dependence on globalization and the challenges. Trade went from predictable to uncertain as nations blocked and confiscated protective medical gear and other needed supplies. Leaders worry about similar disruptions for food or other necessary products. “But the crisis that globalization faces has roots that go far deeper than the current pandemic,” explain...

How We Broke the World: NYT

Thomas L. Friedman June 2, 2020
Global insecurity has intensified with the gradual dismantling of protections. “Over the past 20 years, we’ve been steadily removing man-made and natural buffers, redundancies, regulations and norms that provide resilience and protection when big systems – be they ecological, geopolitical or financial – get stressed,” explains Thomas Friedman for the New York Times. Obsession with short-term...

Breaking Globalization Easier Said Than Done: DW

Mathilda Jordanova-Duda May 30, 2020
Equipment, whether routine appliances or life-saving ventilators, is manufactured with supply strains stretching over multiple countries. Mathilda Jordanova-Duda, writing for Deutsche Welle, describes how the Covid-19 pandemic prompted Boge, a German air-compressor business, to reassess its supply chains, including motors from Asia, piping from Eastern Europe, cooling systems from China and other...

COVID-19 – Ordeal for Globalization: Jakarta Post

Darmansjah Djumala May 21, 2020
Analysts debate globalization’s role in the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, whether in spreading the disease or helping move needed services and goods. Writing for the Jakarta Post, Darmansjah Djumala categorizes globalization as both “process” and “order” – the first through technological advancements in transportation and communications and the second as a system of regulation and rule of law. The...

Deglobalization Gains Momentum: PIIE

Douglas A. Irwin April 28, 2020
International trade was already in retreat before the Covid-19. The pandemic will test cross-border supply chains, alliances, investments, travel and other connections. Douglas Irwin, writing for the Peterson Institute for International Economics, warns that protectionist steps to limit trade will slow or even reverse economic growth. He identifies recent eras of globalization: 1870 to 1914,...

The Coronavirus Won’t Stop Globalization: Lawfare

Raphael S. Cohen April 13, 2020
As countries close borders to contain COVID-19 and consider new trading patterns for essential goods, analysts contemplate the end of globalization. Raphael S. Cohen, senior political scientist with Rand, refutes three sets of arguments. First, globalization has long endured destructive populism, deep divisions and pandemics. Second, viruses are part of the natural world, and the most competitive...

COVID-19 Not Globalization Crisis: Financial Times

Robert Armstrong March 18, 2020
Global and community leaders most understand the nature of the COVID-19 crisis to develop effective strategies. The crisis calls for global cooperation rather than competition. People may pursue fewer person-to-person connections, but will still rely on global communications and data on best practices. “The virus has revealed the hidden costs and fragility of global supply chains, triggering a ‘...