Foreign Affairs Outlook for 2021

Global Governance in the COVID-19 Era

Dr. CHO HanSeung

Professor, Dept. of Political Science and Int'l Relations, Dankook University

hanscho@dankook.ac.kr

English Abstract

Global governance is in crisis due to the COVID-19 Pandemics. Nationalism is spreading, global governance is suffering a financial crisis, and dependence on China is growing due to the decline of the U.S. In addition to the side effects of the expansion of the role of private actors, the retreat of institutionalization and liberalism also appeared. Although Biden is signaling a return to the international system with the slogan of recovering multilateralism, global governance is not free from the hegemony competition of superpowers in the future as well since the U.S.-China competition is already deeply embedded in the international system. However, as new global issues such as health, environment and cyber have emerged as important agenda for the international institutions, South Korea should use this opportunity to enhance its international position as a middle power state.