By Zara Mansoor
Covid-19, the fatal virus that made history, has killed off a substantial fraction of the world’s population, as the total cases rapidly climbed globally. Some states, like China and New Zealand, managed to control the situation, while in some ill-fated nation, like United States of America, Pakistan, India, the death rate is still on high and they are experiencing the night terrors on day to day basis.
Moreover, even the world’s hegemon has lacked of good governance, and it has been unable to switch towards maintaining and retaining the pandemic and cope with the challenging conditions. However, even the worst-hit nations somehow survived and bit by bit are returning to the normal life as the daily cases wind down.
Furthermore, deeper conspiracy theories have been emerging and doing rounds since the start of this dangerous disease, contributing at huge level to deteriorate the crisis even more. These theories have been unrolling faster than the virus itself. Some of the conspiracies theories holding important position, and playing an influential role, affirm that Coronavirus is the start of a “germ warfare” prepared in Chinese labs to use against the world’s superpower, in order to make it collapse and take its place by filling the vacuum.
On the other side, China has continuously rejected this allegation, coming forward with the statement that the virus is a “Bioweapon” the United States brought to Wuhan, through its militaries, to halt the rise of its competitor. China also accused US of sowing the seeds of the disease for destroying China world’s image as a rising power. Both states are trying to divert attention from one’s own missteps and they are also opposing the science based investigations and intelligence agencies, while charging the other with accusations. These affairs beget spoiled inter-state relations, and raised tensions that further give rise to several conflicts.
In addition, Thucydides trap, which goes like“when one great power threatens to displace another, war is almost always the result”, seems appropriate to fit here. Thucydides once quoted “It was the rise of Athens and the fear this inspired in Sparta that made war inevitable.” Sparta feared the growing rise of Athenian Empire and Peloponnesian war which caused instability in Greece.
If we go more deep into the history, in earlier 20th century, when the world was Europeanized, we observed an almost similar situation. United States started rising to surpass the global empire under the domain of global economic power and naval supremacy in the Western Hemisphere. Although no war took place but, Britain faced the challenges of the proximate threats to its position. Every emerging power tries to become number one, which pays the way to conflicts and dis-order. Here, in case of the United States (dominant power) and China (emerging power), both are trying to cut off the others influence, from the fighting on third territories to the trade war, and by holding the other responsible for using bioweapon to terminate other’s power, striving for maintaining and building the leadership over the world.
Besides, in the meantime, another conspiracy theory came up: Covid-19 is the grand plan of the Jews to target Muslims and stop them to perform their ritual practices, as Muslims’ worship places are closed everywhere, while others non-muslim are in an ongoing practice.
It cannot be appropriate to discuss if the people believing to that have lack of awareness. Most of the things in the world got affected and attacked by this imperceptible yet powerful virus. As well, It is not good to be a slave of logic and facts all the time, but it is no harm believing in them sometimes.
Additionally, the virus has been assumed as the God’s wrath on his people. It is marked as another conspiracy, but it is probably the Divine Anger on us because of our uncontrolled and absurd actions. It is not something created by homo sapiens to destroy or end the world, or by other states to establish their global hegemony and dominate the new world order, rather is God who show his force, making visible that natural calamities are always inevitable. Well, most of the population is becoming non-believer, sceptic and people, by rejecting religious principles, have become nihilist. Whereas God is handling our whole system and nothing can work without his permission.
Meanwhile, there’s also who believes the Covid-19 doesn’t exist: it is just to scare the people out there, the individuals died of natural deaths and their dead bodies have being linked to the coronavirus in order to get aid from international community.
Moreover, the accusations of states on each other are badly ruining their inter-state relations and creating the feeling of mistrust between them. The world has been entangled in the blame game and economic distancing is creating hurdles for the future of nations. Along with the political, social and economic characteristics of states, also the complex interdependence factor is being seen in its crippling phase.
The International Relation’s concept of complex interdependence, put forward by Robert Keohane and Joseph Nye in 1977, affirms that the states, along with their fortunes , are inextricably tied together. It stress upon cooperation rather than conflicts and upon the states’ dependence on political organizations at international level, their interactions with international actors and their enhanced interdependence. Additionally, it has resulted in favorable and advantageous situations.
Furthermore, with the advent of new world order, the so-called American World Order, interlinkages of nations and their inter-state relationships formed into a new shape which was later named as complex interdependence. It helped to bring about non-violence situations and gestures of goodwill by one state for the other.
But the balanced state of affairs has completely collapsed from Covid-19, the deadly virus that killed many and endangered the rest of life at risk It ended the existence of mutual trust, agreements, cooperation and generated a complete distrust among nations.
Allegations between states about who caused the pandemic, and the conspiracy theories, have started conflicts and contributed on high level to make the crisis progressively worse. Furthermore, they have weakened interstate relations and compromised the complex factor of interdependence by ruining the already existing economic, political and social ties and structures of the States, which support the once stabilized and peaceful international structure.
Author: Zara Mansoor (Political Analyst, Islamabad, Pakistan)
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights)