Unfinished Transformation

Domestic Politics and International Relations since the COVID-19 Pandemic

Wonhyuk Lim

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9780815739906
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Politics & International Relations
• Subtopic: International Relations
• Index: Politics & International Relations

The end of the Cold War, the acceleration of globalization, and "the rise of the rest" posed serious challenges to the existing international order based on World War II settlements and Cold War modifications. The Global Financial Crisis of 2008 provided an opportunity to address this problem, as evidenced by the emergence of the G20 at the leadership level, but this adjustment, reflecting a sea change in international economic and political realities, was by no means a smooth process. Domestically, in many advanced industrial countries, there was a populist/nativist backlash as increasing socioeconomic disparities and interaction with the outside world produced economic anxiety and status anxiety. Politicians who promised to take back control appealed to a large number of voters, using "us vs. them" rhetoric to divert attention from socioeconomic inequality. Thus, even before the outbreak of COVID-19, the combination of international power shift and populist/nativist backlash made global cooperation a precarious proposition, even though the proliferation of global value chains, climate change, and infectious diseases made global cooperation more imperative than ever before.

The pandemic has accelerated the pre-existing trends of increasing inequality at home and decreasing inequality among countries, especially U.S.-China competition. It is evident that these accelerating trends cannot lead to stable outcomes, as they exacerbate the risks of crisis and conflict if they continue. This book explores how domestic and international transformation can address these problems. Domestically, instead of blaming "the global elite" and "outsiders," investing in people should receive priority, given the challenges of automation and globalization. Unless workers and the middle class feel secure enough, governments would find it difficult to push for international initiatives. Internationally, a new order should reflect changing economic and political realities, with guardrails to prevent conflict and mechanisms to promote global cooperation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Contents
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Introduction: Unfinished Transformation of the World in Disarray
• 1 The COVID Shock, American Domestic Transformation, and Transpacific Relations
• 2 The Negative Feedback Loop of United States–China Relations
• 3 The Postpandemic Order: China, the ASEAN, and the Future of the Indo-Pacific
• 4 Europe and the World after COVID-19: How the EU’s Internal Dynamics Will Shape Its External Relations
• 5 The Transformation of Eurasia in the Post-COVID World: The End of the Sino-Centric Continent?
• 6 The Possibilities for “Effective Multilateralism” in the Coming Global Order
• 7 Technology, Growth, and Inequality: Changing Dynamics in the Digital Era
• 8 The Future of Democracy
• 9 The Global Response to High-Impact Pandemics Requires New Approaches
• 10 Global Development Cooperation in the COVID World
• 11 Global Climate Politics in the Age of COVID-19
• Index
• eCopyright