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Coronavirus and geopolitics: Toilet paper as the new definer of class — and other changed realities

Coronavirus and geopolitics: Toilet paper as the new definer of class — and other changed realities
Covid-19’s arrival in South Africa could not have been more inconvenient to South Africans and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s New Dawn, says the writer. (Illustrative image | sources: Wikimedia / PNGtree.com)

The Covid-19 pandemic is changing everything. And not least global geopolitics, economics and social relations. The world will never be the same again — and nor will South Africa.

Historical examples exist of the devastating human cost and political fallout of pandemics. South Africans are less than a week into a declared Covid-19-related national disaster. Even at this early stage, some aspects of the political significance of the pandemic are emerging. Some of these are unprecedented. Some will remain long after the Covid-19 curve has normalised, or disappeared, while others may linger, leaving a political landscape and global arena changed.

The resilience of state sovereignty

The binary academic debate about the erosion or the endurance of state sovereignty has reached a new phase. This week the European Union announced the closure of its external borders. On other continents, states took similar border-related decisions, signalling the reassertion of the territorial states. Decades-long accusations and predictions of Fortress Europe have finally been realised after European states one after the other closed their borders — a development akin to the start of World War II — and, finally its external borders. This may well be the pinnacle of European integration despite Brexit.

Globalisation

Globalisation as the Great Enabler of the global balance of power, mobile populations, the accelerated movement of goods and ideas has also been the Great Enabler of Covid-19. The dark side of globalisation has been exposed, ironically, by a marketplace (the Wuhan market). It is not the end of globalisation, perhaps more a visible fracturing of globalisation whose outcome will emerge.

China’s Belt-Road Initiative has been lauded as the 21st century’s first Grand Idea. Indeed, all figurative roads led to Rome (ie Italy), or not. The latter refers to Isis/Isil’s recent fatwa that effectively bans its members from travelling to Europe. Globalisation that enabled the al-Qaeda franchise to spawn a global pyramid scheme of so-called jihadist terrorists has now seemingly backfired. It may not last long.

The Corona Gaze and state surveillance

Besides restrictions on international travel, governments have also strengthened state surveillance by deploying large numbers of police officials and, in some instances, the criminalisation of movement. Liberal European norms and practices such as free movement, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech are limited for the first time in the 21st century. Some governments have adopted war-like measures through either new legislation, or activating national emergency legislation. This has been some time in the making as European states have experienced a number of so-called terrorist attacks that required vigilance and intelligence.

Besides larger law-enforcement deployments, biometric surveillance such as temperature measurements has also increased to unprecedented levels.

It has been reported that in China, state surveillance escalated to cyberspace. Social media platforms were censored or even shut down. Western media houses were deported from China on 17 March 2020. The Corona Gaze from outside has been terminated whereas the domestic gaze continues.

Narratives of the Other

Corona nationalism, for lack of a better description, has emerged and is illustrated by references of Covid-19 as the China Virus or Kung Flu. Simultaneously, some governments have adopted a military posture in combating the virus. Israel, for example, has declared its response to be similar to its counter-insurgency response. US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are presenting themselves as Commanders-in-Chief fighting a war and an enemy of the people.

Besides this posturing at elite level, ordinary citizens are also accused of othering. Class differences have been revealed as middle to upper classes start and continue to hoard, while, even in countries of the global North, not all citizens have access to running water and flush toilets. In fact, toilet paper has become the great definer of class.

Spaces and spatiality

The origins of Covid-19 have been reported as coming from a market in Wuhan. The poor state of public and personal hygiene at this particular market was reported. This is not unique to China. In 2019, while on a visit to Bamako in Mali, I was informed that some markets are regularly set on fire for hygienic reasons. The Wuhan market as Ground Zero of Covid-19 may well raise questions about the state of hygiene elsewhere in China.

Chinese immigrants to the clothing industry in northern Italy have been accused of being the carriers of Covid-19 to Europe, a continent that had successfully fought all major infectious diseases by the end of the 19th century.

Demographics

Ageing and decreasing European populations have often been mentioned as a counterpoint to the global South’s youth bulge. One reason why the death toll may be so high in Europe is the vulnerability of an ageing population. It may well be that populations of the global South are typically more compromised in terms of immunity due to, for example, food insecurity, displacement, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Science and security

The outbreak of Covid-19 has also revealed divisions between and within states vis-à-vis scientific education, values and the authority of science. Covid-19 denialism occurs despite scientific evidence of its existence. In contrast, the value of science and the expectation that science has the power to solve all human problems has also been tested. Post-materialist impatience has been exacerbated by the expectation of instant gratification, ie the speedy development of a cure. Scientific research and development is costly and takes time. Moreover, ethical considerations such as human trials should also be deliberated publicly.

Covid-19 may well result in the redefinition of security. Whereas billions of dollars have been allocated to and spent on ICT research and development, vanity pharmaceuticals such as Botox, slimming solutions and pain-killers, scientific developments vis-à-vis bacterial and viral diseases have been arrested by the greater resistance and resilience of bacteria and viruses. The apex of antibiotics may be in sight in the face of invisible enemies.

Covid-19 has also revealed the vulnerability of states that lack pharmaceutical security. Whereas the UK and US, for example, have national stockpiles of certain pharmaceutical products and medical equipment, most states do not. It may well be that non-government organisations such as MSF, the ICRC and the ISRC may be more geared than states.

Risk and resilience

The politics of uncertainty and capitalist angst have spawned a multi-billion risk assessment and risk reduction industry. Qualitative and quantitative models are sold to the highest bidder to gain the greatest market share. However, Covid-19 has already revealed that readiness, reaction, response and resilience may well become new indicators of risk.

Global production and supply chains

Adam Smith’s notion that the wealth of nations can be increased by only producing what they are best at, is questioned. Covid-19 has, at least temporarily, proven Smith’s approach to accumulation and production wrong. The Chinese labour force that had long been pawned to Western capitalist consumers’ materialist greed has, effectively since the start of the New Lunar Year, stopped producing. Production lines have been halted and supply chains interrupted. The late Susan Strange’s notion of primary and secondary security structures that determine the wealth and health of nations seems to be more reliable. In fact, Strange has included production as one of the power structures in her book, States and Markets.

Angst and equalisers

The invisibility of and humanity’s lack of immunity vis-à-vis Covid-19 have added a new layer to humanity’s existential angst. Whereas some populations live behind bottles of sanitisers and facial masks, others, seemingly unaffected, reverted to the age-old coping mechanism: humour. Covid-19 plays the world stage in two genres only: tragedy and comedy. Humour is not a great equaliser, more so political humour.

South Africa

Covid-19’s arrival in South Africa could not have been more inconvenient to South Africans and President Cyril Ramaphosa’s New Dawn. The legacy of State Capture, and the country’s socioeconomic and development crises have been arrested by a jealous crisis and national disaster. It has already confirmed the deep race, class, gender, age, and education divisions in South Africa. It is too soon to tell the impact once it makes political landfall. For now, the centre holds. DM

Professor Jo-Ansie van Wyk is with the Department of Political Sciences at the University of South Africa, Pretoria.

Gallery

"Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email [email protected]"

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