Covid-19: Prof Graham speaks on Covid-19 and its impact on international relations, trade and travel

With the Covid-19 pandemic sweeping across the globe, the Bedfordview and Edenvale NEWS spoke with Prof Suzy Graham, associate professor and head of politics and international relations at University of Johannesburg (UJ).

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Graham spoke about the South African government’s reaction and the impact the virus will have on international relations, trade and travel.

She said the measures taken by the SA government were appropriate to try and reduce the spread of the virus.

“I think the government took action when the virus started to spread already in the country.”

Graham said in hindsight, measures such as the closure of borders and returning citizens to SA, could have already been put in place when the virus broke out in the northern hemisphere.

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However, if this had been done she said the economy and other aspects of society would have been impacted earlier too.

While comparing SA’s response to Covid-19 to that of other countries, Graham believes SA government responded fairly quickly to the pandemic as cases rose in the country.

“In my opinion, our government instituted measures earlier in the crisis than other governments did in their countries.”

Graham said although the measures put in place will have an impact on the economy, tourism, education, and other sectors, the health of citizens must take precedence.

Speaking on the international community, Graham said many countries are still cooperating instead of seeking total isolation.

“There is regional protection and individual country protection.

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“Countries recognise how globally connected the world is; there are so many intricate networks and multiple layers of interaction.

“Countries are taking advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO), among other scientific advice.”

One example of countries cooperating is the European Union (EU). Graham said the EU is acting to protect all EU citizens.

Despite the cooperation, leaders of countries needed to implement measures like the closure of borders as the number of cases increased.

“The rapidity of the spread made countries stop in their tracks, it is unprecedented.

“This ‘enemy’ is not another country, it [the virus] is attacking any humans regardless of culture, race, creed, class, station in life.”

Graham believes if states do isolate themselves completely, they would have to reassess their global supply chains and production industries.

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With regard to international trade, Graham described the impact as significant and added that the international community has not seen the full impact on trade yet.

Graham said although she could not predict if the virus would bring a change in the economic superpowers of the world, she highlighted that global events like world wars can dramatically shift economic positions worldwide.

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“This is different though as WHO has indicated that this virus could reach every country in the world and therefore all states are likely to suffer losses of many kinds.

“It will be about who can bounce back the fastest.”

On the topic of travel and the ease of migration in regions such as the EU, Graham said new regulations may be put in place to better control travel.

However, in the same breath, Graham said things may just return to the way they were before the crisis.

“As this is linked to health, new health regulations might be enforced.”

In Graham’s opinion, the ease of travel in areas like Europe contributed to the spread of the virus.

“Despite this, the rapidity of spread and impact on communities of the novel coronavirus could not have been anticipated in my view.”

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