ABSTRACT
This chapter examines key themes emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on world order. It is argued that disruptions to the world order have occurred at multiple levels, impacting many of the multilateral world order UN institutions, such as the World Health Organization. Following the Global Financial Crisis, the pre-COVID-19 pandemic epoch witnessed a surge in nationalism and illiberal democracy, amid challenges to globalisation and the re-emergence of protectionism in the West. This created a strategic vacuum that was filled by China and Russia. The onset of COVID-19 pandemic strengthened the nationalist, illiberal, and populist sentiments. Thus, foreign aid and development have been side-lined by many Western nations, which struggle with the social and economic consequences of the pandemic. The pandemic became a catalyst for change, enabling China and Russia to exert their ‘soft power’ globally. It is argued that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, foreign aid and development are in a state of crisis. Pre-COVID gains made in poverty reduction, health, education, and other areas are retreating. The concluding discussion focuses on how foreign aid is deeply challenged by pandemic-related drivers of political self-interest within the context of a rapidly changing global governance and world order.
