US presidential election in the age of the novel coronavirus

NATURAL disasters, including epidemics, can have major impact on the economics and politics of nations. Hence, when the Black Death swept through Europe and wiped out a third of its population, it also helped accelerate the dismantling of feudalism. The serfs were free to leave the lands controlled by the lords and seek higher wages amid vast labour shortages, creating the societal foundations of modern Europe.

It is too early to assess the potential long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our political systems.

Some speculate that it would boost nationalist sentiments, strengthening the hands of those Americans and Europeans who seek to close their countries' borders to immigration and trade.