Global events are significant occurrences with worldwide impact that shape international relations, social movements, and cultural exchanges. They can also have far-reaching economic consequences that influence economies and politics at a global scale. Global events can be either mega-events (planned, large-scale events) or global crises (unplanned, widespread events).
In the current global event environment, we are seeing a number of Big Events: pandemics like COVID-19, massive economic downturns in multiple countries, and ongoing political upheavals. Previous research, primarily on HIV, suggests that the effects of these Big Events are contingent. The outbreak of the plague, influenza and AIDS all appear to have occurred in conjunction with wars, dictatorships and other human-caused events. Yet in other cases, these same conditions did not lead to large HIV epidemics.
Other examples of global events include natural disasters, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, and climate change. However, in these situations, the impact of the event is limited by the resiliency of local communities and governments. Moreover, these global events also impact all places differently. For example, when the volcanic eruption of Mt. Etna killed thousands of people in the early 1900s, Europe was recovering from its own influenza pandemic and was unaware of, or indifferent to, the deaths in India. This limits the validity of the blanket statement that global events and globalisation impact all places.
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