The Changing Nature of Globalization after COVID-19 Pandemic

Towards the end of the twentieth century with the end of the ideological rivalry of the Cold War, it was hoped that a new world based on peace, friendship and cooperation would emerge. In this new world order, globalization was to play an important role in bringing the world together. Proponents of globalization claimed that globalization is a boat that uplifts all. However, this boat was first rocked by the East Asian financial crisis of late 1990s, then by the catastrophic event of 9/11, and thereafter by the economic recession of 2008 followed by the protectionism of the Trump regime in the United States of America. But the biggest storm that it has had to encounter has been that of the outbreak of COVID 19 pandemic in 2020. It has raised a serious question mark about the future of globalization as a process to overcome the challenges faced by the contemporary world. This paper, therefore, makes an attempt to analyse the future prospects of the process of globalization after the outbreak of COVID 19. It first tries to delineate the essential characteristics of globalization as outlined by various scholars in their respective definitions of globalization. It also focuses upon the various aspects or different perspectives about globalization. Thereafter, it traces the evolution of globalization in the modern world. Henceforth, it analyses the impact of COVID-19 upon the various aspects of the process of globalization and by way of conclusion points a future picture of the prospects of globalization.