World-Systems Analysis and the COVID-19 Pandemic: How the Structural Dynamics of the Capitalist World-Economy Exacerbate Societal Vulnerability and Undermine Collective Responses to External Shocks

World-systems analysis is an approach of historical macrosociology according to which the structural dynamics of the capitalist world-economy entrench and reproduce dangerous asymmetries of power within and between countries, ultimately exacerbating societal vulnerability and undermining collective responses to external shocks. The COVID-19 pandemic and the global response to it are a case in point, with developed and developing countries not only differing wildly in their ability to provide their populations with adequate medical care and financial relief, but also distributing them highly unequally. The resulting tears in the social fabric further erode trust within and between societies and contribute to a festering of conspiratorial narratives that frustrate even the most basic public health measures, let alone the mass vaccination programs that are vital for ending the pandemic. This chapter utilizes world-systems analysis to explain these outcomes, arguing that unless the underlying structural dynamics are radically transformed, future external shocks will be increasingly more difficult to deal with. It concludes by discussing what such a radical transformation should entail and offers ideas for future research.