WEBINAR: Post-COVID-19: Is there going to be a new world order? With Dr Chandra Muzaffar &#038; HE Dr Emir Hadzikadunic

WEBINAR: Post-COVID-19: Is there going to be a new world order? With Dr Chandra Muzaffar & HE Dr Emir Hadzikadunic

April 28, 2020

Date: Saturday, 2^nd May 2020

Time: 3PM MYT | 7AM UTC | 9AM Bosnia & Herzegovina

Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/webinar-post-covid-19-is-there-going-to-be-a-new-world-order-tickets-103801617432

*The Zoom link for the Webinar will be sent to your email on Saturday, 2^nd May at 10AM.

With millions of people moving across the planet as never before in human history due to globalisation, a pandemic like Covid-19 was inevitable. It is as if the entire planet is facing a natural disaster all at once. The establishment of a new diplomatic order, arranged around a new kind of political philosophy, is necessary to both sustain ourselves during the pandemic and rebuild after it passes. Whether there will be a change in the global order or not, the bigger question that concerns us is the climate of fear that the pandemic has cultivated in the minds of observers of global politics. Without doubt, the pandemic will have far reaching repercussions and global politics would definitely be altered.

But one question that is worth exploring is whether the outbreak is itself a symptom of a larger change in the world order that has already happened? Global order refers to the constellations of the power hierarchy amongst various nation-states at a marked point in time and space. Ever since the fall of Soviet-Union, the conventional wisdom proclaims that the global order has been unipolar – with the US as the world’s only superpower. For the past 30 years, the world has been living under the US hegemony. In many ways, it could be argued that the American hegemony is complete and that it eclipses every aspect of our lives.

The US has full control over the main institutions that run the global economy. It has immense influence over the United Nations and specialised agencies. It also influences consumer choices of the peoples who live far, far away from North America. Yet, the US President Donald Trump has blamed the WHO for “covering up” the crisis and halted its funding. This points to a fact that despite its political and economic clout, flows of globalisation have outpaced the United States. The world’s sole superpower has ended up being the worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Therein lies the answer to the question that we are probing, is the pandemic a sign that the global order has changed fundamentally?

The world’s richest and the most powerful country has failed in providing security to its citizens. It has recorded the most number of cases and deaths up till now. The pandemic has inadvertently revealed one final aspect of this new world order, that the sources and agents of insecurities are not located in missiles and defence capabilities of rival states, but in issues of health and livelihood, or simply the lack thereof.

About the Speakers

Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST), an international NGO based in Malaysia, which seeks to critique global injustice and to develop an alternative vision of a just and compassionate civilisation guided by universal spiritual and moral values. He has published extensively on civilizational dialogue, international politics, religion, human rights and Malaysian society. The author and editor of 32 books in English and Malay, many of his writings have been translated into other languages. Among Chandra’s latest publications are, A World in Crisis: Is There a Cure? andReflections on Malaysian Unity and Other Challenges. In l977, he founded a multi-ethnic social reform group called Aliran Kesedaran Negara (ALIRAN) which he led for 14 years. Today, apart from his role in JUST, Chandra sits on the board of a number of international NGOs concerned with social justice and civilizational dialogue. Chandra was Professor and Director of the Centre for Civilisational Dialogue, University of Malaya (1997-1999) and Professor of Global Studies at Universiti Sains Malaysia (2007- 2012). He travels abroad frequently, giving lectures and speaking at seminars and conferences. He is also a regular speaker at meetings at home in Malaysia. Chandra is the recipient of a number of international awards related to his scholarship and social activism and he is married to Mariam Mohd Hashim and they have two daughters.

Dr Emir Hadzikadunic is the Ambassador of Bosnia & Herzegovina to Malaysia. He holds a PhD in International Relations from the International University of Sarajevo. His extensive experience in international relations and foreign policy includes professional service as Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the Islamic Republic of Iran (2010-2013) and Malaysia (2016-ongoing), lecturing and guest-lecturing at the International University of Sarajevo and other universities in South East Europe, Malaysia and Singapore. He has written for academic journals and media outlets, authored two books, and co-authored other publications. Throughout his professional career, he has also conducted consultancy work for EU, UNDP, OSCE and USAID during their peace building missions in Bosnia and Herzegovina.