(De)Internationalisation and (De)Globalisation? Adjusting to a Post-pandemic World

The COVID-19 pandemic was not merely a disruption, but a zeitgeist that tested and undermined confidence in domestic institutions, science, information, and international cooperation. It defined an era in which opportunities and costs of global engagement became starkly visible, as did the dangers of retreat and insularity, and fundamentally changed the nature of international interaction. While some describe this as deglobalisation or deinternationalisation, this chapter argues that it is more accurately understood as a reconfiguration; a re-globalisation or re-internationalisation in times of great change. Some of these changes might be small and incremental, and some of which will represent more permanent ruptures. The post-cold war liberal international order that has shaped many of our lives no longer commands unquestioned authority, but globalisation and internationalisation continue regardless, reshaped by new political realities, securitisation, and shifting power dynamics. We are struggling to come terms with a post-pandemic zeitgeist, and try to make sense of globalisation and internationalisation now in a more plural, contested, and politicised space, in the context of a relative decline in US power, and the immense uncertainties in its wake. However, this period of unpredictability and instability is one that offers enormous opportunities for reengagement with each other as we discover, negotiate, and innovate new models of internationalisation. Using higher education and academic exchange as key lenses, this chapter will examine how international engagement is being reconfigured rather than reversed in a more plural and politicised global environment.