The ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic on international politics are still being studied and no concrete assumptions can be made regarding a new post-COVID world order. Two parallel processes are going on in the international system at the moment. On one hand, there is a growing interdependence among states with the emergence of globalisation and economic liberalisation;on the other hand, with rising protectionism, countries are becoming isolationist focusing more on domestic issues through their ‘nation first’ policies. But the transnational nature of the plague will continue to drive nations to come together and push for collective leadership both at the present times and also in a post-COVID world. In the context of South Asia, greater multilateral cooperation among countries is required to deal with the challenges posed by the pandemic as the region is already prone to several natural as well as man-made calamities. This article argues that, keeping aside their geopolitical rivalries, countries of South Asia should now seriously rethink regionalism and multilateralism and there should be a coordinated effort to revive SAARC for better regional cooperation.
Multilateralism in South Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: an Indian perspective