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Tan Gene Xian 73206 & Esther Wong Hau Si 69637

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Tan Gene Xian 73206 & Esther Wong Hau Si 69637

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Globalisation is not a new term in today's world. It is the spread of technologies, products, information and jobs across the national borders and cultures (Fernando, 2020). In the economic context, globalisation is used to describe an integrated economy marked by free trade, the free flow of capital and corporate use of foreign labour markets to maximize returns and benefit the common good (Lutkevich, 2020). Undoubtedly the world is getting more interconnected between countries especially after the Covid-19 hit countries all around the world. From here, another wave of globalisation coming or already came can be assumed which it changes the practice of diplomacy and international relations nowadays. There are six major theories in the practice of diplomacy and international relations which are feminism, realism, constructivism, Marxism, liberalism and post-colonialism. In this context, diplomacy means the art and practice of conducting negotiations between nations while international relations can be defined as the branch of political science concerned with relations between nations and primarily with foreign policies (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). As globalisation improves communication technologies and public policies, it will affect diplomacy and international relations as well from the aspect of political, social and economic. This paper focuses on how globalisation changed the practice of diplomacy and international relations in politics, society and economics in relation to the current Covid-19 pandemic.

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First and foremost, globalisation indeed changed the practice of diplomacy and international relations among countries in the political aspect. Taking the relationship of China and Western countries as an example, before the Covid-19 hit the world, the tensions between the United States and China have been escalating as the world before Covid-19 is increasingly dominated by two global powers, the United States and China. The failure of China president Xi Jinping to handle the virus by suppressing the existence of the virus causing the public opinion towards China from bad to worse. Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States took the first leap cutting off all the economic, technological and educational relations with China where the situation became even worse as other Western countries also took a strict stand against China. The plummeting of its international reputation and realising the hostile situation it currently is caused China to send medical aids such as masks, testing kits, ventilators and personal protection equipment to more than 100 countries, including the United States, Canada and European nations to soften the political blame and dissatisfactions of the countries after it recovered from the pandemic hit. The World Health Organisation (WHO) also took part in softening the tension between China and other Western countries as world peace must not be broken in the timing when all the countries are suffering under the virus influence. No doubt the international relations among states are increasingly influenced by constructivism rather than other international relation theories after the virus hit. According to Cristol (2009), the constructivist theory emphasizes the meanings that are assigned to material objects, rather than the mere existence of the objects themselves. The constructivism approach shows that the behaviour of humans is determined by their identity which is shaped by society’s values, history, practices, and institutions. This explains why states and other units continuously construct the reality about which policy decisions to be made such as the decisions about the sending or receiving Covid-19 aid and cooperation among countries to solve the pandemic by reflecting an “intersubjective consensus” of shared beliefs about political practice, acceptable social behaviour, and values.

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Other than the political aspect, globalisation changed the practice of diplomacy and international relations in terms of social aspect as well. In this context, globalisation improves the quality of life as it increases the interaction among society and nations. This can be seen crystal clear before and after the Covid-19 pandemic. While people are experiencing lockdown to slow down the virus spread, online services began to emerge. With advanced communication technologies such as the Internet, social media, gadgets and smartphones, people are allowed to interact with each other anywhere and anytime. This can be related to the concept of digital diplomacy. According to Reshetnikova (2008), e-diplomacy also known as digital diplomacy is a part of public diplomacy that is the interaction of individual groups and the interests of one country and another. Digital diplomacy is becoming a norm in today’s era as everything goes through virtual and online. People can stay up-to-date about the international issues through online platforms. For example, due to the virus pandemic, online government and council meetings using online meeting platforms such as Zoom are not something new today. Besides, the cultural exchange and information exchange take place efficiently nowadays and political issues keep rising through social media thus forming a strong public power. For instance, in the past people tended to have demonstrations when the public voiced their opinions. For now, people tend to use various online platforms to spread the issues as people are slowly transferring their focus from physical mediums to online mediums. An example can be seen as during the Covid-19, more and more injustice incidents are being posted online and being discussed such as the case of George Floyd. Other than this, the issues of Black Lives Matter and Stop Asian Hate have been widely discussed on the online platforms and social media. This is what happened after massive protests happened, the celebrities and influencers actively shared these issues in Facebook and Instagram. The influencers and celebrities came out with an online movement on those social media platforms and created hashtags such as #blacklivesmatter and #stopasianhate in order to share widely. In this context, the world is moving to a more liberated situation as information is more easily obtained and shared. According to Merriam-Webster (n.d.), liberalism can be defined as a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties. In short, countries all around the world nowadays are more emphasizing and focusing on equality and justice not only to limit the chaos technology has brought to us but also to promote social progress with the fast-changing generation.

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Moving on to the economic aspect, it is no doubt globalization has posted a certain impact on today's economic climates. The goal of globalisation is to provide organizations a superior competitive position with lower operating costs, to gain greater numbers of products, services, and consumers (Pologeorgis, 2019). Back in the history of globalisation when the Silk Road acted as the main trade road that connected Europe, North Africa, East Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Far East boosted the economic, cultural, political, and religious interactions between these regions to the Triangular Trade network, a system of exchange in which Europe supplied Africa and the Americas with finished goods, the Americas supplied Europe and Africa with raw materials, and Africa supplied the Americas with enslaved laborers until today’s era where  cryptocurrencies has dominated the market in which people no longer running here and there to trade goods and more job opportunity is available. For instance, the invention of ride-hailing apps such as Grab and Uber which open up a new job market to the public. According to Marxism, the global economy nowadays is showing a trend that everyone has equal chances to earn more money and the nobility of work is no longer being considered. For example, parents tend to lay all their hopes to their children to obtain a job that offers a great salary such as lawyer, doctor and engineer but now, in Malaysia’s context even a Grab driver can earn more than a lawyer does. Thus, globalisation in certain contexts provides more job opportunities and also indicates the world is progressing towards an ideal socialist international regime.

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In conclusion, globalisation has influenced the practice of diplomacy and international relations in a way that leaders of countries tend to cooperate in a different way as compared to previous generations. Regardless of the impacts globalisation has brought to our world, it is a continuous process that keeps changing the world by facilitating the exchange of ideas in which people are more open-minded and tolerant to one another. By looking at how Covid-19 has changed every aspect of our society today politically, socially, and economically, it indeed has a lasting impact on globalisation which also continuously influences the practice of our life. States have been cooperating to overcome the despairing situation Covid-19 has posted to the world. More interactions among states can be seen through today’s fast-changing media applications and more innovations are emerging to smoothen and fasten the international relations of the world despite the limitation of physical contact as a step to prevent the spread of the virus.  It should not come as a surprise if there is more global consolidation and more remote forms of work that no one would ever think about emerge in the future.

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