The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed the limitations of the United Nations Security Council’s ability to respond to a truly global crisis – although the writing may have already been on the wall with their response, or lack thereof, to climate change. The failure of the Security Council raises questions as to its legitimacy and authority in an emerging global constitutional order – that is, if such an order does exist, and is worth redeeming.
Global constitutionalism is the process of constitutionalising international law and global governance. The pandemic has offered insight into at least two limitations on the prospects for a global constitutional order. The two weak points I discuss in this post relate to leadership and structural inequality and biases.