Keywords
nationalism
states
realism
pandemic
Abstract
Geopolitics and vaccine nationalism have been seen as barriers in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic globally. Rich Western nations have nationalized vaccine production and distribution, while vaccines produced by Russia and China have been criticized in the West as lacking scientific rigor. This paper attempts to understand the negative implications of vaccine nationalism and seeks to explain how, in times of crisis, words such as unity and solidarity were replaced by populism, nationalism, and the politics of blame. To accomplish this, the paper employed a qualitative research method, where a review of the literature relating to the COVID-19, geopolitics, and vaccine nationalism revealed that the words unity and solidarity were non-existent in the fight against the pandemic. In doing so, nation-states put their interests ahead of the other states. It was observed that failure to ensure vaccines for developing countries risks prolonging the pandemic.
References
Aljazeera (2021, February 07). What is ‘vaccine nationalism’ and why is it so harmful? Access on the internet: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2021/2/7/what-is-vaccine-nationalismand-why-is-it-so-harmful
Aljazeera (2021, February 22). WHO chief urges rich nations not to undermine COVAX scheme. Why COVID-19 Vaccination in Poorer Nations Has Slowed, Posing Global Risks. Access on the internet: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/2/22/un-to-rich-nations-dontundermine-COVAX-vaccine-programme.
Amaro, S. (2020, March 12). Trump bans travel from Europe to US – here’s what you need need to know. Cnbc. Access on the internet: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/12/trump-banstravel-from-europe-here-what-you-need-to-know.html
Antunes, S., Camisao, I. (2018, February 27). Introducing realism in international Relations Theory. “International Relations Theory, E-International Relations Publishing”. Access on the internet: https://www.e-ir.info/2018/02/27/introducing-realism-in-internationalrelations-theory/
Baraniuk, C. (2021). COVID-19: What do we know about Sputnik V and other Russian vaccines?. bmj, 372. DOI: 10.1136/bmj.n743
BBC News (2021, September 21). COVAX: How will Covid vaccines be shared around the world? Access on the internet: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-55795297.
Bell, D. (2017). Political realism and international relations. “Philosophy Compass”, 12(2). DOI: 10.1111/phc3.12403.
Belluz, J. (2021, January 01). Rich countries are hoarding COVID-19 vaccines. Vox News. Access on the internet: https://www.vox.com/2021/1/29/22253908/rich-countrieshoarding-COVID-19-vaccines
Bhutia, P. (2021, April 21). Lockdowns and curfews: A list of all the states that have imposed restrictions. Economictimes. Access on the internet: https://travel.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/destination/states/lockdowns-and-curfews-a-list-of-all-the-statesthat-have-imposed-restrictions/82025050
Bochkov, D. (2021, January 29). Great Power Competition and the COVID-19 Vaccine Race. Diplomat. Access on the internet: https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/great-powercompetition-and-the-COVID-19-vaccine-race/
Buranyi, S. (2020, April 10). The WHO v coronavirus: why it can't handle the pandemic. “Theguardian”. Access on the internet: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2020/apr/10/world-health-organization-who-v-coronavirus-why-it-cant-handle-pandemic
Burki, T.K. (2020). The Russian vaccine for COVID-19. “The Lancet Respiratory Medicine”, 8(11). DOI: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30402-1.
Cucinotta, D., Vanelli, M. (2020). WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic. “Acta Bio Medica: Atenei Parmensis”, 91(1).
Desvars-Larrive, A., Dervic, E., Haug, N., Niederkrotenthaler, T., Chen, J., Di Natale, A., Lasser, J., Gliga, D. S., Roux, A., Sorger, J., Chakraborty, A., (2020). A structured open dataset of government interventions in response to COVID-19. “Scientific data”, 7(1). DOI: 10.1038/s41597-020-00609-9.
Eurosurveillance Editorial Team (2020). Note from the editors: World Health Organization declares novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) sixth public health emergency of international concern. “Eurosurveillance”, 25(5). DOI: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.5.200131e.
France24 (2021, January, 30). COVID-19: As the West competes for vaccines, China exports jabs and expands soft power. Access on the internet: https://www.france24.com/en/asiapacific/20210130-COVID-19-as-the-west-competes-for-vaccines-china-exports-jabs-andexpands-soft-power.
Frias, L. (2020, August, 20). Local officials in Wuhan, China, withheld information on COVID19 threat – US intel. Business Insider US. Access on the internet: https://www.businessinsider.co.za/us-intel-local-officials-withheld-information-on-coronavirus-threatnyt-2020-8
Ghebreyesus, T. (2021, February 02). Vaccine Nationalism Harms Everyone and Protects No One. Foreign policy. Access on the internet: https://foreignpolicy.com/2021/02/02/vaccine-nationalism-harms-everyone-and-protects-no-one/
Guzzini, S. (2004). The enduring dilemmas of realism in international relations. “European Journal of International Relations”, 10(4). DOI: 10.1177/1354066104047848.
Hafner, M., Yerushalmi, E., Fays, C., Dufresne, E., Van Stolk, V. (2020). The global economic cost of COVID-19 vaccine nationalism. DOI: 10.7249/RBA769-1.
Huizen, J. (2021, April 06). Herd immunity may take 4.6 years due to vaccine nationalism. Access on the internet: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/herd-immunity-maytake-4-6-years-due-to-vaccine-nationalism
Iwuoha, V. C., Aniche, E. T., Ezirim, G. E., Alumona, I. M., Obiorji, J. N. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 lockdown and social distancing policies on small businesses in south-eastern Nigeria: whither the stimulus packages? “Journal of Poverty and Social Justice”. Vol. 29, No. 2.
Jennings, R. (2021, September 18). China’s COVID-19 Vaccine Diplomacy Reaches 100-Plus Countries. Access on the internet: https://www.voanews.com/a/china-s-covid-19-vaccinediplomacy-reaches-100-plus-countries/6233766.html
Jones, I., Roy, P. (2021). Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine candidate appears safe and effective. “The Lancet”, 397(10275). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00191-4
Karcic, H. (2020, March 23). How the coronavirus brought back political realism? TRTWorld. Access on the internet: https://www.trtworld.com/opinion/how-the-coronavirus-broughtback-political-realism-34793
Kirton, D. (2021, February 06). Wuhan residents remember coronavirus 'whistleblower' doctor a year after his death. Reuters. Access on the internet: https://www.reuters.com/article/ushealth-coronavirus-wuhan-doctor-anniv-idUSKBN2A60AK
Kirton, D. (2021, January 29). Wuhan residents remember coronavirus 'whistleblower' doctor a year after his death. Reuters. Access on the internet: https://thediplomat.com/2021/01/great-power-competition-and-the-COVID-19-vaccine-race/
Lal, A., Erondu, N. A., Heymann, D. L., Gitahi, G., Yates, R. (2020). Fragmented health systems in COVID-19: rectifying the misalignment between global health security and universal health coverage. “The Lancet”, Vol. 397, Issue 10268. DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20) 32228-5.
Lanyon, C. (2020, April 08). Coronavirus: Donald Trump threatens to cut off WHO funding over agency’s handling of outbreak. Access on the internet: https://www.scmp.com/ news/china/diplomacy/article/3078865/donald-trump-says-who-too-focused-china-andreally-blew-it
Loft, O. (2022 February 23). Covax: Vaccinating the world against Covid-19 in 2022. Access on the internet: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/covax-vaccinating-the-worldagainst-covid-19-in-2022/
Marlow, I., Msngi, F., Lindberg, S. (2020, December 28). China’s struggling to get the world to trust its vaccines. Access on the internet: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-12-28/china-s-struggling-to-get-the-world-to-trust-its-covid-vaccines
Monyae, D., Nkala, S. (2021, February 07). Vaccine nationalism poses a major threat to Africa as the West gobbles up supplies – we need to up our game. Access on the internet:
Oxfam (2021, April 06). Failure to vaccinate globally could cost up to $2,000 per person this year in rich nations. Access on the internet: https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/failure-vaccinate-globally-could-cost-2000-person-year-rich-nations
Rand Cooperation (2020). The global economic cost of COVID-19 vaccine nationalism. Access on the internet: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RBA769-1.html
Rowland, C., Ruahla, E., Berger, M. (2021, March 16). Drug companies defend vaccine monopolies in face of global outcry. Independent. Access on the internet: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-covid-vaccine-kremlin-sputnikb1817830.html
Rowland, C., Ruahla, E., Berger, M. (2021, March 21). Drug companies defend vaccine monopolies in face of global outcry. Washingtonpost. Access on the internet: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/03/20/covid-vaccine-global-shortages/
Shah, S., Steinhauser, G., Solomon, F. (2020, February 17). Vaccine Delays in Developing Nations Risk Prolonging Pandemic. Access on the internet: https://www.wsj.com/articles/falteringCOVID-19-vaccine-drive-in-developing-world-risks-prolonging-pandemic-11613557801
Smith, A., Bradley, M. (2020, July 16). Russia is trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research, U.S., U.K. and Canada claim. Nbc News. Access on the internet: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-attempting-steal-coronavirus-vaccine-research-u-s-u-k-n1234021
Smith, A. (2021, April 02). Russia and China are beating the U.S. at vaccine diplomacy, experts say. Access on the internet: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-china-arebeating-u-s-vaccine-diplomacy-experts-say-n1262742
Steinhauser, G., Bariyo, N., Emont, J. (2021, April 19). Why COVID-19 Vaccination in Poorer Nations Has Slowed, Posing Global Risks. Access on the internet:
United Nations (2020, April 28). Least Developed Countries Appeal for “Global Stimulus Package” to Combat COVID-19 and its Economic Aftershocks. Access on the internet:
United States Food and Drug Administration (2021, December 21). SARS-CoV-2 Viral Mutations: Impact on COVID-19 Tests. Access on the internet: https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/coronavirus-covid-19-and-medical-devices/sars-cov-2-viral-mutationsimpact-covid-19-tests
Walt, S. (2020, March 12). The Realist’s Guide to the Coronavirus Outbreak. Foreign Policy. Access on the internet:https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/09/coronavirus-economyglobalization-virus-icu-realism/
Weintraub, R., Bittom, A., Roseberg, M. (2020, March 22). The Danger of Vaccine Nationalism. Access on the internet: https://hbr.org/2020/05/the-danger-of-vaccine-nationalism
White, C. (2021, March 12). How Many New Coronavirus Variants Are There?. Access on the internet:https://www.healthline.com/health/how-many-strains-of-covid-are-there
Williams, A., Luce, D. (2020, May 04). DHS report: China hid coronavirus' severity in order to hoard medical supplies. NBnews. Access on the internet: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/dhs-report-china-hid-coronavirus-severity-order-hoard-medicalsupplies-n1199221
Williams, M. C. ed. (2007). Realism reconsidered: the legacy of Hans Morgenthau in international relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Wouters, O. J., Shadlen, K. C., Salcher-Konrad, M., Pollard, A. J., Larson, H. J., Teerawattananon, Y., Jit, M. (2021). Challenges in ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines: production, affordability, allocation, and deployment. “The Lancet”, Vol. 397(10278). DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00306-8.
Wu, H., Gelineau, K. (2021, March 16). Chinese Vaccines Sweep Much of the World, Despite Concerns. Access on the internet: https://thediplomat.com/2021/03/chinese-vaccinessweep-much-of-the-world-despite-concerns/
Wu, H. (2020, December 20). Chinese vaccines are poised to fill gap, but will they work? Access on the internet: https://apnews.com/article/international-news-coronavirus-pandemicchina-coronavirus-vaccine-taiwan-81e4d6a4eed4ba1b5751cc19a193e631
All texts published in the journal Humanities and Social Sciences are available in the full version on the website of HSS.
Open Access – CC BY 4.0
This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. The articles are published under the terms of the Creative Commons licence (CC-BY 4.0), including the following fields of exploitation comprising:
1) the right to publish the Work in print in book and digital form and to distribute it in book and digital form, including by displaying, playing, broadcasting, making it publicly available by the Publisher and third parties,
2) the right to record and reproduce all or part of the Work on paper and in the form of a digital record and in any other possible way by the Publisher,
3) the right to enter the Work into computer memory and save the Work in the IT systems of the Publisher and other entities distributing digital content,
4) the right to archive the Work and make copies of the Work on electronic media by the Publisher, without quantitative restrictions,
5) the right to digitise the Work and to perform conversions/transformations of the Work in electronic form into other digital formats by the Publisher and third parties,
6) the right to distribute the Work, including via the Internet or other ICT networks by the Publisher and other third parties, in a way that allows viewing, reading, copying the content of the Work in electronic form, i.e. all elements belonging to it, whereby copying shall be understood as the saving of the Work made available to an interested person on a medium of their choice,
7) the right to store the Work in the database of the Publisher and other entities distributing the Work in any form, as well as its processing in the database of the Publisher and third parties,
8) right to translate and publish the Work in one of the modern languages in any form by the Publisher and third parties.
The full text of the license is available at the following link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en