Contenu du sommaire : Le COVID-19 : à bas la mondialisation, Vive l'Europe ?

COVID-19 Puts International Health Cooperation to the Test
The COVID-19 pandemic catalysed international tensions, in particular between China and the US. The president of the US strongly criticized the World Health Organization, claiming it was working in the interest of Beijing and it was inefficient. Yet this organisation acted quickly and furthered international health cooperation. It has also taken action towards the production of a vaccine, which could be considered a global public good.

A Deglobalized World after COVID-19?
After an unprecedented growth of globalization since 1945, the 21st century has taken a first step backwards, hurried by the health and subsequent economic crisis triggered by COVID-19. But the future of our globalized world, swaying between a need for relocation, delusions of self-sufficiency and constraints posed by globalization, is not yet set in stone. Let's hope the future sees the birth of a rebuilt, controlled globalization.

COVID-19, an Accelerator of Post-Globalization
Globalization has generated interdependencies whose worst consequences have been brought to the fore by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several European countries thus faced a shortage of necessary sanitary products. Europe now has to learn from this crisis and firmly step into the post-globalization era. It will have to lessen its dependency on countries that do not comply with liberalism principles, China in particular.

Industrial Sovereignty Unveiled by COVID-19Over the last 20 years France has undertaken deindustrialisation, relocation and a spread of its value chains. The COVID-19 crisis hastened several consequences of this trend, such as a lack of sanitary products and a dependency on China. To avoid another such situation several strategies are possible. The European Union will have an important role to play in the strengthening of its member states' economic resilience.

The Financial Sector and the COVID-19 Shock
Lockdown measures implemented to curb the COVID-19 pandemic have triggered an unprecedented economic crisis. The latter cannot be compared to the 2008 financial crisis, which was not caused by an external shock. To limit the consequences of the recession, country leaders are increasing their public debt and relying on the intervention of central banks. Economic recovery and employment protection will depend upon the financial sector's ability to serve the real economy.

Crisis to Crisis
The financial and health crises of 2008 and 2020 respectively are not a consequence of fate but of human actions. They reveal certain harmful aspects of the international system and of globalization. Corrupting cupidity, criminalisation of economic systems, a tendency to lie and forget what history has taught us: such are some characteristics of these crises. The COVID-19 pandemic might lead to heightened predatory behaviours, in particular from China.

Urbanization: Why, and How Far?
Since the 18th century the shift from an agricultural economy to an industrial one has led to massive urbanisation. At the end of the 20th century, globalization increased urbanisation rates in essential economic centres while Africa's population left the countryside for jobs in cities. There is no simple factor that can help anticipate a steady increase in urbanisation rates, all the more so since this phenomenon can take on numerous shapes.

The International Action of Cities and Local Governments
The COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on the deficiencies of certain states and, conversely, on the ability of territorial authorities to play an active role in crisis management. These authorities' outward action is undergoing rapid change. Cities, regions, and other federated states are starting to assert themselves as major participants in international relations. Some megalopolises are hiring career diplomats; new forms of “paradiplomacy” are blossoming.

Smart Cities: Chinese Ambitions in the Time of Coronavirus
China is developing and exporting a diversity of technological tools presented as core components of safe and well-functioning modern cities. Videosurveillance, facial recognition technologies, robots and drones are all becoming key parts of the “smart city” ecosystem. Since the emergence of COVID-19, Beijing has accelerated the promotion and use of these technologies and strengthen their use in urban areas. More than ever, China ambitions to become the global provider of smart cities.

Cities: Battlefields of Today and Tomorrow
Historically, wars have more often taken place around cities than within them. Urban areas have been modern battlefields since the 1930s. They help balance forces between well-equipped armies and less-so independent groups, as was once again proved by the recent Battle of Mosul. The use of military robots is bound to develop; its effects on conflicts remain hard to foresee.

Finding a Way Out of the Euro-American Dead-End
Euro-American diverging views surrounding security in Europe are hardly new, yet they are getting worse under the American temptation to cast off and European powerlessness resurfacing with each new crisis. Europe will be able to assert itself as a strategic power only if its members agree to a lucid analysis of their environments and interests, and if the EU negotiates a new distribution of responsibilities within the North Atlantic Treaty.

Can Israeli Democracy Withstand Netanyahu?
From April 2019 to March 2020, Israelis have had to vote three times for their representatives sitting in the Knesset. Provoked by the political class's inability to agree on a new government, this unprecedented voting cycle ended with the agreement brokered between Benny Gantz and Benyamin Netanyahou. The latter, although weakened by the series of events, remains Prime minister. His ongoing leadership is remarkable, but his brutal handling of politics might leave a trace.