Nationalism and Global Citizenship in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Addressing Inequality and Fostering “Glo-Ubuntu” Citizenship

Senyo Dotsey (), Holly Oberle, Audrey Lumley-Sapanski and Morten Fiete Peters
Additional contact information
Senyo Dotsey: Interuniversity Department of Regional and Urban Studies and Planning (DIST), University of Turin & The Polytechnic University of Turin, Viale Mattioli, 39, 10125 Turin, Italy
Holly Oberle: Social and Behavioral Sciences Faculty, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, CO 81501, USA
Audrey Lumley-Sapanski: Social and Behavioral Sciences Faculty, Colorado Mesa University, Grand Junction, CO 81501, USA
Morten Fiete Peters: Institute for Political Science, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Bremen, Universitätsboulevard 11-13, 28359 Bremen, Germany

World, 2025, vol. 6, issue 3, 1-20

Abstract: This article examines how the COVID-19 pandemic exposed and intensified global inequalities, particularly through the lens of vaccine distribution, thereby challenging the ideals of global citizenship. While the pandemic highlighted humanity’s interconnectedness and shared vulnerability, the unequal access to vaccines and resources revealed enduring structural disparities between nations. Drawing on a review of the existing literature from three national contexts, this study critiques the limitations of global citizenship as a framework for addressing such inequalities. In response, it proposes “glo-ubuntu citizenship”—a reimagined concept rooted in African philosophy and the idea of shared humanity—as a more culturally grounded and ethically responsive approach. This model blends the global and local dimensions of citizenship while emphasizing solidarity and mutual care. The article argues that while glo-ubuntu citizenship is not without its challenges, it holds greater potential than conventional models for fostering equity in global health governance and guiding more inclusive responses to future crises.

Keywords: global citizenship; health inequality; nationalism; glo-ubuntu citizenship; vaccine distribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G15 G17 G18 L21 L22 L25 L26 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 R51 R52 R58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/6/3/87/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4060/6/3/87/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jworld:v:6:y:2025:i:3:p:87-:d:1691926

Access Statistics for this article

World is currently edited by Ms. Cassie Hu

More articles in World from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().