Page 87 - COVID-19: The Great Reset

administration decided to block a publicly administered pension
fund from investing in China.

In the coming years, it seems inevitable that some
deglobalization will happen, spurred by the rise of nationalism and
greater international fragmentation. There is no point in trying to
restore the status quo ex ante (“hyper-globalization” has lost all its
political and social capital, and defending it is no longer politically

tenable), but it is important to limit the downside of a possible free
fall that would precipitate major economic damage and social
suffering. A hasty retreat from globalization would entail trade and

currency wars, damaging every country’s economy, provoking
social havoc and triggering ethno- or clan nationalism. The
establishment of a much more inclusive and equitable form of
globalization that makes it sustainable, both socially and
environmentally, is the only viable way to manage retreat. This

requires policy solutions addressed in the concluding chapter and
some form of effective global governance. Progress is indeed
possible in those global areas that have traditionally benefited

from international cooperation, like environmental agreements,
public health and tax havens.

This will only come about through improved global governance
– the most “natural” and effective mitigating factor against
protectionist tendencies. However, we do not yet know how its

framework will evolve in the foreseeable future. At the moment,
the signs are ominous that it is not going in the right direction.
There is no time to waste. If we do not improve the functioning
and legitimacy of our global institutions, the world will soon

become unmanageable and very dangerous. There cannot be a
lasting recovery without a global strategic framework of
governance.

1.4.2. Global governance

Global governance is commonly defined as the process of
cooperation among transnational actors aimed at providing
responses to global problems (those that affect more than one
state or region). It encompasses the totality of institutions,

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