International cooperation put to the test

The Covid 19 crisis: a halt or a revival of international cooperation? The Covid 19 pandemic has given rise to a demand for a rethink of “the world after”. Globalisation is at the forefront of this desire for renewal. As the crisis has highlighted the risks of an excessive degree of economic interdependence, the need to relocate some strategic activities to national territory has become apparent. At a deeper level, the belief in the virtues of free trade and specialisation, a key idea of the WTO, which had already been shaken for several years, seems to have been shattered. Beyond trade, other international coordination agencies such as the World Health Organisation are being criticised for their relative impotence. Will they emerge weakened or strengthened by this crisis episode? In a word, has this pandemic marked the death knell of multilateralism, or will it, on the contrary, be the occasion for a renewal of the institutions of international cooperation?