Covid-19 and South-South Trade & Investment Cooperation: Three Emerging Narratives

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the frailties of economic relations across different aspects of the globalized network. From the national, through the sub-regional, to the regional to the international levels, questions have arisen regarding the seemingly interconnected, yet fractured socio-economic relationships in our modern societies.

In this essay we shall focus on the trade and investment dimension of South-South relations that have been affected by the pandemic. In doing so, we shall reveal the (often overlooked or taken for granted) linkages with race in South-South relations. We identify the way(s) in which the Covid-19 pandemic has made obvious the latent tensions, hostilities and structural inequalities that exist in South-South cooperation.

We argue that three possible narratives may emerge in a post-COVID-19 era for South-South trade and investment cooperation and explore what each narrative might mean for the future of South-South relations.

Keywords: South-South, Cooperation, Trade, Investment, Race, COVID-19