Vaccine nationalism: contested relationships between COVID-19 and globalization

Abstract

This article offers a review of the emergent literature on 'vaccine nationalism'the act of gaining preferential access to newly developed vaccines by individual countries -in the context of COVID-19, paying close attention to the complex relationships between the global public health crisis and globalization. The coexistence of nationalist and globalist approaches to COVID-19 vaccines suggests simultaneous and contentious processes of globalization and deglobalization; the growing political and economic divide in the world; the lack of (or lag in) our consciousness of global interconnectedness, especially in non-economic spheres; and various structural barriers to global collaboration when facing a common threat to humanity's future. Although these tensions -not necessarily novel -are unlikely to end globalization given the extant intertwining of global economic networks, they have been sharpened and intensified during the pandemic and, thus, constitute a pivotal -or make-or-break -moment for us to critically imagine a postpandemic world.

Vaccines, media and politics: A corpus-assisted discourse study of press representations of the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines

“…The development and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines have been severely plagued by geopolitics and nationalism, since a successful vaccine can help a country rebuild their economy and health system and gain advantages over other countries [23]. COVID-19 vaccine research and development have become a new site for global competition and contestation [24] and "a race against time and each other in an unequal world" [25]. This has given rise to "vaccine nationalism", which usually refers to "the pursuit of vaccines in the national interest, for example, through supply agreements or export bans, including where this might be to the detriment of other countries" [26].…”

“…This can be seen from the escalating trade war before the pandemic [28]. The intensified geopolitical tensions dampened the potential joint efforts of the two superpowers in vaccine research and development, even though the collaboration between them can contribute to the early recovery of the world from the pandemic [25].…”

Multilateralism, Developmental Regionalism, and the African Development Bank

“…The crisis in multilateralism transcends anti-multilateral rhetorics of some politicians across different parts of the world to practical policies that have potential significant impacts on Africa. From rising numbers of populist political parties and conflicts to the experience of Covid-19 and vaccine nationalism (Katz et al, 2021;Zhou, 2021), it is important to not only rethink but also seek sustainable regional solutions to pressing challenges.…”

Internationalization of higher education in a post‐pandemic world: Challenges and responses

“…On the other hand, our connectedness has meant an easier transmission of the disease and has exacerbated our vulnerabilities and led to more inequity. For instance, the fast spread of virus mutations coupled with protections measures such as "vaccine nationalism" has led to global health inequalities (Zhou, 2021).…”