Growing Nationalism Exacerbated by COVID 19: Editorial Essay

Abstract

For a long time, we have witnessed the rise of nationalism in Asia and many nations in Europe. However, it seems that the virus from Wuhan added fuel to the fire. In the second half of March 2020, the US President Donald Trump referred to the COVID-19 coronavirus as the Chinese virus. I am sure he did that intentionally. A great media war ensued after this between the two countries and vital ally such as Australia too made a statement following President Trump. Mr Scott Morrison remained a shade more polite, nevertheless believed that the coronavirus emanated in Wuhan, "likely in its wildlife wet markets" (ABC News, 2020). Not to be outdone, the editor of the state-run Global Times, Hu Xijin, described Australia as "chewing gum stuck on the sole of China's shoes". "Sometimes you have to find a stone to rub it off," Hu posted on Weibo (ABC News 2020). These cacophonies lead to the question-is nationalism a bad one? The Bad Nationalism? Unfortunately, this seems to be the new nationalism gyrated from the propaganda war between the US and China, to begin with. Nevertheless, a series of actions followed in many countries. In those early months, a truck filled with medical supplies was stopped at the German-Swiss border, after German Chancellor, Angela Merkel decided to stop most exports of protective medical equipment. A diplomatic spat between Germany and its neighbours, Austria and Switzerland ensued (Vogel, 2020). It is alleged that the US hijacked mask shipments in a rush for coronavirus protection from France.