This is a good piece, but I am genuinely puzzled by the arguments that this is "hardening borders" or furthering nationalism. Yes, there are Italians angry at the Germans. Travel is restricted. But some of this seems a strawman to me. /1
If the virus hadn't spread so fast, and all the nations were in lockdown to contain China or a region, it's an argument that makes more sense. But that didn't happen; it was a global crisis almost instantly. And the response was global, even if screwed up. /2
More to the point, it's making people rely on globalized technology and information *more*, not less. Will it decrease our reliance on China? God, I hope so. But "less China" isn't "nationalism" or "hard borders." This seems like a solution in search of a problem. /3
Perhaps most important, nationalist-populist regimes haven't exactly proven they're good at dealing with this. Italy, the UK, the US - not exactly billboards for electing more nationalists. Germany, South Korea? Hmm. It almost feels like wishcasting. /4
I'm not sure how "a global pandemic that requires yet more reliance on technology, science, communications, and fast movement of goods" means "therefore, this will unwind globalization." That seems even less likely now; be interesting to see how these predictions hold up. /5x
