Author: John Harley Breen, Dublin

The COVID-19 pandemic is spreading across the globe. Governments were warned by the Global Preparedness Monitoring Board, the World Economic Forum and the Global Health Security Index that they were unprepared for a global health pandemic. The crisis risks amplifying geopolitical instability, eroding trust in governments and doubts raised over the very nature of capitalism. The pandemic lends itself to economic nationalists advocating for the dismantling of international trade networks in the face of a looming global recession and increased market volatility.