International Relations
Photo: Standing Rock solidarity march protesting the Dakota Pipeline in San Francisco, November 2016, Pax Ahimsa Gethen, 2020.
The Covid-19 Shock Doctrine written by Josephine Münch and Benjamin Smith
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n 2007, Canadian author and activist, Naomi Klein published a novel that is crucial to understanding the notion of the Shock Doctrine. Her novel ‘The shock Doctrine: the Rise of Disaster Capitalism’ brings forward the theory of disaster capitalism, which proposes that specific political or economic agendas are furtively introduced by governments and corporations during a disaster. This theory suggests that during a disaster, whether it be an economic crisis, a conflict or a natural cataclysm, specific political or economic agendas that tend to predominantly prioritise corporate interests are introduced by capitalist corporations and neo-liberal governments. Klein demonstrates that these decisions harness the population’s confusion and disorientation caused by the shock of the event, to implement their political or economic interests. The Covid-19 crisis is the perfect example of ‘disaster capitalism’ at work. Politicians and corporations have put forward their interests under the guise of recovering their political economy. Governments and businesses from all sides of the political spectrum are already using recovery packages, budget reforms, environmental deregulation or democratic backsliding to enhance their political and economic autonomy that stems from the Covid-19 health crisis. This crisis has enabled countries to have better control of their macroeconomic approaches. While Germany has become renowned for its “black zero” commitment to budgets balanced between fiscal spending and tax receipts; the country abandoned this more fiscally conservative approach and implemented one of the most radical relief packages in response to the pandemic. The state allocated €350bn, roughly 10% of its GDP, to support the Eurozone’s largest economy. These funds are directed at struggling businesses and include unlimited loans. When Chancellor Angela Merkel proclaimed that ‘we won’t be asking every day what it means for our
Autumn 2020 • Dialogue 19
