The Afterworld: Long COVID and International Relations (Health and Society)

COVID-19 sparked the largest global crisis of the 21st century, extending well beyond public health. For some, the impact was swift and dramatic, with the pandemic pushing tens of millions into poverty and creating extreme food insecurity; for others, the transformations are still bubbling under the surface. Efforts to arrest the spread of COVID-19 entailed far-reaching forms of government intervention and the extensive use of new technologies. Questions thus remain as to whether the societal changes brought about by COVID-19 will endure in the post-pandemic period. The return of geopolitics, along with the war in Ukraine and tensions in Asia, have further complexified an already complex global situation.

Since March 2020, there has been an explosion of analyses about the short-term impacts and future global consequences of COVID-19. Parallels to the 1930s collapse of Europe have been made, as recounted by Stefan Zweig in his famous memoir, The World of Yesterday. While most commentators are pessimistic, some are looking for positive change. Faced with this unprecedented crisis, we have been propelled to think about how, in the “next world,” we can strengthen economic prosperity, social justice, the environment, gender relations, public health, and political institutions—or at least ensure that these features of our world do not continue to deteriorate.

In The Afterworld, 50 professors from four Montreal universities, among the foremost experts in their fields, propose progressive, pragmatic, and social science-based ideas with the potential to improve international cooperation, security, human rights, and sustainable prosperity beyond the pandemic.

Editors:

Frédéric Mérand is Professor and Director of the Department of Political Science at the University of Montréal. He is also a researcher at the Centre de recherche en éthique. From 2013 to 2022, he was the scientific director of the Centre d'études et de recherches internationales de l'Université de Montréal (CÉRIUM).

Jennifer Welsh is Professor in the Department of Political Science and the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University. She is the Canada 150 Research Chair in Global Governance and Security as well as the Director of the Centre for International Peace and Security Studies (CIPSS).

>Anthony Amicelle is Adjunct Professor at the School of Criminology of the Université de Montréal.

Valérie Amiraux is Full Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Université de Montréal.

Vincent Arel-Bundock is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université de Montréal.

Ari Van Assche is Full Professor in the Department of International Affairs at HEC Montréal.

Daniel Béland is the Director of the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada at McGill University.

Karim Benyekhlef is Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of the Université de Montréal.

Mark R. Brawley is Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University.

Dominique Caouette is Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université de Montréal.

Allison Christians is Full Professor and the H. Heward Stikeman Chair in the Law of Taxation at McGill University Faculty of Law.

Ryoa Chung is Full Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Université de Montréal.

François Crépeau is Full Professor and the Hans & Tamar Oppenheimer Chair in Public International Law at McGill University.

Pierre-Marie David is Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Pharmacy of the Université de Montréal.

Magdalena Dembińska is Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université de Montréal.

Peter Dietsch is Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Université de Montréal.

Thomas Druetz is Assistant Professor in the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine at the School of Public Health of the Université de Montréal.

Pearl Eliadis is Associate Professor in the Max Bell School of Public Policy at McGill University.

François Furstenberg is Full Professor in the Department of History at John Hopkins University.

Pablo Gilabert is Full Professor in the Department of Philosophy at Concordia University.

Timothy Hodges is Professor of Practice at McGill University's Institute for the Study of International Development.

Maya Jegen is Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université du Québec à Montréal.

Juliet Johnson is Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University.

Nicholas King is Associate Professor in the Biomedical Ethics Unit at McGill University.

Erick Lachapelle is Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université de Montréal.

Justin Leroux is Full Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at HEC Montréal.

Pierre Martin is Full Professor at the Department of Political Science from the Université de Montréal.

Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé is Associate Professor in the Department of Politics and International Studies at Bishop's University.

María Martín de Almagro Iniesta is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université de Montréal.

Erik Martinez Kuhonta is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University.

Theodore McLauchlin is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the Université de Montréal.

Frédéric Mégret is Full Professor, Codirector of the Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism, and William Dawson Chair at McGill University.

Cynthia Milton is Full Professor in the Department of History at the University of Victoria.

Laurence Monnais is Full Professor in the Department of History at the Université de Montréal.

Christian Novak is Professor of Practice in the Institute for the Study of International Development at McGill University.

Mireille Paquet is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Concordia University as well as the Research Chair on the Politics of Immigration.

T.V. Paul is the James McGill Professor in the Department of Political Science at McGill University.