Rollercoaster 2021: From see-saw of pandemic to Taliban re-emergence

It was a mix of fear and hope in the year 2021 across the globe due to the Covid-19 pandemic raising its head in different corners of the world time and again and the race by every nation to vaccinate its citizens.

While the pandemic showed its catastrophic nature in countries like the United States, India, Brazil and United Kingdom among others, the major impact of the pandemic was seen on education of students across the globe as most of the institutions remained shut for a long period.

Even as the pandemic continued to dominate the world during 2021, world politics maneuver through rough patches many times.  While the United Nations had declared 2021 as the International Year for Peace and Trust, no love was lost between India and China, Russia and Ukraine among others as skirmishes and battles were fought between these rivals. Soldiers from these nations lost their lives during skirmishes at different points of time.

However what attracted the eyeballs from across the world was the comeback of Taliban in Afghanistan and its repercussions in the region. While the impact of Taliban on Afghans was witnessed on television screens, its diplomatic ripples were felt as far as the United States which was concerned over the use of Afghan territory by hostile forces.

What left many surprised was the reports of severe shortage of goods in the UK, USA and some other countries resulting even in protests at some places. Governments blamed supply chain problem for the shortage due to the sudden spike in demand for various goods after the lockdown ended in most parts of the world. This also led to price rise infuriating consumers in these countries.

Some even blamed the poor policies of the British government post Brexit last year. The impact of moving out of the bloc was witnessed this year as a large section of European Union (EU) labour on which manufacturing depended, left the country. Britain’s trade with the EU has already declined.

Migration of people from volatile regions remained one of the major issues of 2021 that also hinted towards a changing policy of some of the European nations including France. Soon after the Afghanistan crisis, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Europe will have a “robust approach” towards illegal migration from the country. Many saw Macron’s stand as his preparation towards 2022 presidential polls in France.

A major political development early 2021 was Joe Biden taking over the reins of the United States. Even as Biden had entered the office claiming that he would remove the stringent restriction on border restrictions especially from Mexico, he struggled till the year ended. This happened especially due to court orders and resistance from different states along the border.

As in the past, climate change remained a contentious issue between developed and developing nations with the latter accusing the former of destroying the environment during the industrial

As in the past, climate change remained a contentious issue between developed and developing nations with the latter accusing the former of destroying the environment during the industrial revolution and putting entire onus on poor countries to thwart climate change.