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Document Type

Article

Abstract

The development of a safe and effective Coronavirus vaccine has dominated the concerns of the international community over the course of the last six months. While the global community agrees on the importance of its development, it is not entirely clear how a vaccine will be distributed globally. The implications of which entity, whether a state or private company, develops a trusted vaccine first and how efficiently and equitably that vaccine is distributed are yet to be seen. Using Classical Realism, Institutional Liberalism, and Normative Theory, this paper seeks to discuss and analyze how the development of a vaccine will affect the international community. Specifically, using Classical Realism, this paper will address the implications of a global power developing a vaccine and how nationalism will affect that development and subsequent distribution. Secondly, through Interdependence Liberalism, this paper will analyze the prospects of vaccine distribution among states, the role of non- governmental organizations (NGOs) and international organizations, as well as private industry, in vaccine development. Furthermore, through this lens this paper will analyze the interdependence of states regarding effective global containment of the coronavirus. Lastly, this paper will employ Normative Theory to analyze the obligation of major world powers, specifically the United States, to ensure a safe and effective vaccine is developed efficiently and distributed equitably. Evidently, containing and eliminating the coronavirus through a vaccine is both of paramount importance and laden with challenges. This paper aims to determine the most predictive theory relating to how the international system will react to the development of a coronavirus vaccine and what the implications and predicted outcomes are for the actors which comprise the global community.

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