How Coronavirus Is Accelerating the End of Globalism, Feat. Peter Zeihan
The American-led global order has been unraveling for 30 years, and COVID-19 may be the blow that changes it once and for all.

“Some countries just aren’t going to emerge from the coronavirus.”
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Peter Zeihan is one of the world’s foremost geopolitical experts. In his new book “Disunited Nations: The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World,” Zeihan argues we’re at the end of the largest expansionary period in human history. As America withdraws from global leadership, a totally new (and for most parts of the world, more painful) "normal" will emerge.
On this episode of The Breakdown, Zeihan joins @NLW to discuss why the coronavirus crisis is rapidly accelerating the end of the era of globalization.
- How the American-led global order used the dollar as the tool to keep the world together
- Why geopolitics and demography are coinciding to end the era of globalization
- Why the coronavirus will spark a massive return of American manufacturing
- Why, when it comes to the dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, “Never before has the “exorbitant privilege” of being the world’s reserve currency felt more exorbitant or more like a privilege.
- Why the crisis could spell the end for the euro
- Why China isn’t nearly as well positioned in the post globalization era as many assume
- Why the best positioned countries in the coming era are the U.S., Japan, Argentina, France and Turkey
See also: Cronyism, Zombie Companies and the True Cost of the Coronavirus, Feat. Morgan Creek's Mark Yusko
For more episodes and free early access before our regular 3 p.m. Eastern time releases, subscribe with Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocketcasts, Google Podcasts, Castbox, Stitcher, RadioPublica, IHeartRadio or RSS.
Note: The views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of CoinDesk, Inc. or its owners and affiliates.
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