World-System of Vaccine Distribution

Abstract

This article analyzes spatial hierarchies and geopolitical conflicts during the COVID-19 pandemic from a world-systems perspective. Drawing on data on global vaccine production and distribution, we argue that the trimodal structure of the capitalist world-system—core, semi-periphery, and periphery—has been reproduced through unequal access to vaccines, constituting hierarchically structured “vaccine worlds”. These vaccine worlds are geopolitically contested, as Chinese companies compete with American and European corporations for influence and markets. Against this background, we outline the Chinese state-led vaccine internationalization strategy with its focus on the global South, and discuss its achievements and contradictions.