inexperienced uni student writes about important world issues after three weeks in a poli sci class

(excited by the new knowledge i learned in my IR class I thought I’d bookmark this little discussion post i wrote about the 'liberal world order')

I agree on the fact that the ‘Liberal World Order’ was formed on rocky ground. For this reason, I think that COVID-19 has been yet another blow to the fragile foundation that international politics are based upon. In terms of “remaking” international relations, I believe that the shift in focus the pandemic required when it came to domestic politics versus international politics was key. Returning to the assumptions under liberalism, I think that over the next couple of years, this shift emphasising countries as non-unitary actors leads for them to fortify their own politics in time and in benefit to be stronger when engaging in trade, diplomatic discussions and other interactions in international politics. After hearing the manner in which most loans from the World Bank occur, I found that this indebtedness that a lot of developing countries have to these loans from developed countries could be paralleled to the way that international politics requires a certain level of commitment to solving issues for the rest of the world (while one country could be neglecting their own domestic issues). However, I feel like I should mention the fact that I do acknowledge, similar to the Napoleonic Wars or WWII, there will always be a hypothetical non-cooperative state. I think that in having a group of strong small nations would be better and stronger than having larger states in disarray on a domestic and international scale. In this way, the COVID-19 pandemic can be viewed as a reset in domestic politics, providing an impact in international politics. I’d like to remain hopeful and believe that like individuals, taking a day off and coming back to school/work refreshed could be paralleled to the way that a state could take some time during the pandemic to restructure and reconfigure their own domestic issues to return to international discussions ready to solve major global-impacting issues, such as climate change and efficient trade.