What will the world look like after the pandemic?

The world is in turmoil. The corona-pandemic continues to take lives and disrupt daily lives across the globe. This happens against a backdrop of a declining US and western based world order and a resurgence of authoritarian rulers. In this essay I discuss the inability of the international community to respond to the pandemic, especially as it relates to helping countries in armed conflict. In the end of March, the UN Secretary General issued an urgent plea for a worldwide ceasefire to help communities cope with the pandemic. The plea was not met with adequate international support. I moreover show that regimes across the globe have used the pandemic to restrict political and civil liberties. In sum, we risk emerging from the pandemic as a less democratic world.