Among the byproducts of the coronavirus pandemic has been a spate of obituaries for globalization: “A Global Outbreak Is Fueling the Backlash to Globalization.” “Spread of Virus Could Hasten the Great Coming Apart of Globalization.” “Will the Coronavirus End Globalization as We Know It?”
Short answer: Not if you define globalization as more than intercontinental supply chains and huge container ships. Moreover, such premature death notices undermine the challenge of managing globalization as the world’s balance of power shifts.
Many of these analyses focus on one dimension of globalization within a narrow time frame: the spectacular growth and integration of global markets over the last few decades. They ignore not just globalization’s political, social and cultural components, but its ebb and flow over the 150 years.