Global Governance beyond Covid-19: Recovery and Institutional Revitalisation

Abstract

Abstract:The year 2020 will be remembered for marking the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic rather than the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. At the highest political levels, the pandemic is described as a wake-up call and opportunity to ‘build back better’. In this article, it is argued that ‘building back better’ must also concern a broad-based recovery agenda that goes hand in hand with overdue reforms in the system of global governance. After pointing out what the Covid-19 crisis has revealed about the shortcomings of the current global governance architecture, the article puts forward a reform agenda, which is to culminate in a world summit to fully utilise the political momentum created by the crisis. Avoiding a return to the ‘old normal’, it is imperative to make global governance more resilient to not only future pandemics but also other existing and emerging global challenges.