Plus Ça Change…? How the COVID-19 Crisis May Lead to a Revaluation of the Local

The spread of the coronavirus around the world once again confronts us with the vulnerability of a globalized economy and society. As with previous global crises, it is not obvious that the COVID-19 crisis is leading to a process of de-globalization. It is much more likely that the crisis will accelerate localization—a process that has been going on for much longer. In fact, localization occurs simultaneously with globalization, and is inextricably bound up with it—in both the “old” and the “new common.” In this sense, the struggle to grapple with the current situation shows us the continuing importance of the local in a global context.