Pandemic Aftermath: How Coronavirus Changes Global Society

by Trond Arne Undheim

We are in the pandemic now, but what happens next?

The book offers five ways to look at the coming future, crafted as scenarios, based on the author's study of the forces of disruption that brought on the pandemic. It offers suggestions to remedy its consequences, or even enable segments of society to thrive on it.

The first portion of the book is non-fiction. The second portion is a scenario-based novel, the book charts new territory by interweaving the grim reality of 2020 with a first-person exploration of the next decade as if we were already in it.

The five scenarios considered are: Borderless world, Nation state renewal, Two worlds apart, Hobbesian chaos, and Status Quo.

Genres: Audiobook

427 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2020

About the author

I write about how humans navigate technology—on factory floors, in boardrooms, and in near-future worlds that might be closer than we think.

My nonfiction work includes The Platinum Workforce: How to Train and Hire for the 21st Century’s Industrial Transitions (Anthem Press, 2025) and Augmented Lean: A Human-Centric Framework for Managing Frontline Operations (Wiley, 2022), drawing on research at Stanford’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) and my time as Director of MIT Startup Exchange, where I connected over 1,000 startups with 250 corporations.

I'm also developing a literary science-fiction thriller—a high-concept, deeply human story grounded in cutting-edge science, anthropology, cognitive psychology, and network sociology. It explores what happens when technological systems begin to press against the edges of human agency, judgment, and meaning.

Host of the Futurized podcast (500+ episodes). Former Research Scholar, Stanford CISAC (2022–2024). I hold a PhD on the future of work and technology. Based outside Boston, MA.

Reviews

[Ron Scheese · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite compelling & thought provoking

Just finished Trond Undheim's futuristic book "Pandemic Aftermath."

Published in May 2020, the book is part non-fiction and part fiction.

The non-fiction portion is some history and science around prior plagues and pandemics. The author examines the societal changes which developed in the decades following. The author also accounts the outbreak and worldwide actions of the early months of the Coronavirus. I found this portion of the book to be global, well researched and thorough.

The fiction portion taps into the author's talents as a futurist through examination of five possible scenarios. The author states a premise of the scenario and proceeds to examine the implications a decade out through multiple lenses such as government, health, science, technology, education, economy, etc. The scenario implications are examined globally, not just from a US perspective.

Most scenarios are extreme points of view which cause the projections to deviate from prior state. I found this technique extremely effective in considering possibilities and probabilities. I am certain that no one scenario will play out exactly as the author outlines, but I am equally confident some elements will emerge as outlined. Some of the scenarios are drastic and scary, but in each, there are positive and negative developments.

I found the book to be quite compelling and thought provoking, especially in efforts to navigate through these times. I would recommend it for those strategically examining the pandemic aftermath.

[Julie Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

In his book, Pandemic Aftermath: How Coronavirus Changes Global Society, Trond Undheim, discusses the pandemic and how it could affect our future. His book is thought provoking and even frightening as he offers different potential scenarios that could be our future from here on out.

In the first couple of chapters, Undheim offers some historical background on how previous pandemics changed the societies in which they were encountered. For example, The Black Plague led to an increase in Anti-Semitism (because the Jewish neighborhoods had less casualties because of their isolation and cleanliness rituals), increased workload but less people to do it, and more violence as weapons like the longbow, crossbow, and chainmail were in use.
Many technical advances like metal cookware and the printing press can be traced to aftereffects of the plague as labor saving devices.

Undheim also writes about how past pandemics were passed. For example, with the 1918 Influenza pandemic, he offers various reasons why the illness spread as it did. Scientifically, it was a newly discovered infectious stream that caused the immune system to turn in on itself. Politically, it began during WWI and officials were afraid of bringing public attention to influenza in fear it would bring down support for the war effort. Logistically, more nurses were needed on the front so there was a nursing shortage on the home front. Psychologically, officials refused to account for a second wave, feeling that it had been beaten, so let their guards down when it came through. Geographically, because of increased industrialization and urban density. (Sound familiar, almost spookily familiar? It should.)

Undheim also gives us a timeline of the Coronavirus pandemic from Covid-19's discovery in Wuhan Province, China in December, 2019 to the almost complete shutdown of the entire world by late April-early May with worldwide cases reaching 2 million with the death toll reaching 125,000 by mid-April. (The number is now 7,931,193 diagnosed cases with 433,655 confirmed deaths according to the Coronavirus Update statistics) Even though, we just lived through it, it is still mind boggling to read how quickly this virus spread from one person to 2 million worldwide in less than four months. It's one of those events that future generations would have a hard time processing and believing that it could have happened. But it has happened and is still happening. (There is also a strong possibility that it will continue to happen with a second wave hitting various countries in Asia and Europe, with the U.S. maybe getting hit before the first wave is even finished.)


The highlights (if such can be described about a book discussing such a grim topic) of this book is the possible scenarios that Undheim envisions for the world within ten years. They are almost science fiction scenarios because they require speculative thought. All of these scenarios have both good and bad aspects to them. The five possibilities are:

The Borderless World-In which world leaders achieve full true globalization. The world has one government based on the United States and United Nations(with six branches: judicial, executive, legislative, scientific, environment, and religion), one country, and no borders.

Nation-State Renewal-The opposite of a borderless world is one where there are tighter restrictions between borders, countries, and nations. Borders are closed aeople stop traveling long distances. Contact with more than 50 people is forbidden or outlawed.

Two Worlds Apart-This scenario separates rich from poor. The top 0.01% live in separate cities and existences from the lower 99%. The rich live in their own sterilized communities called Clean World away from the Dirty World, where everyone else lives. Not the old wealthy places like Beverly Hills, Gagnam, Kensington, or the Upper East Side. No, no those are for the upper-middle class and former upper class. The super elite wealthy live in their own enclaves and their own world apart from everyone else.
It began (surprise, surprise) in the United States when the government puts procedures to protect members of Congress, the Senate, Supreme Court, and the White House. They are put in a quarantined area around D.C. to work from home with hotels and apartments changed into living quarters. They build a wall around the enclave. (Hey, Trump got his wall!) They grow their own crops and cattle and keep services inside. Other governments are so pleased with this experiment that they follow suit. All government and financial centers wall themselves in.
Various vaccines have failed during their trial runs, so the elite create their own enclaves in resort areas and real estate properties where the wealthy live and run their business ("It's a hybrid of Disney World and Martha's Vineyard," Undheim predicts). AIs determine intelligence, education, and beauty to determine who can get into these enclaves. Naturally, objections particularly from human rights protestors and people who were wealthy but not enough are raised.
Coronavirus waves spread through Dirty World as many of the working class, minorities, those in poor health, those that live in urban areas, and the impoverished are almost wiped out by the third wave. Rural communities by the fourth wave.


Hobbesian Chaos-Survival of the fittest at its worst. Besides the Coronavirus, similar related and unrelated events happen including wars, invasions, famines, and environmental disasters that led to further problems. Rule of law ceases to exist and clans and ideological movements fall in its place as people fight for resources. The world governances have collapsed. Local warlords and organized crime loot the still wealthy neutral countries like Switzerland.
Various tumultuous events happened at once to contribute to the chaos along with Covid-19: A hurricane called Armageddon in the U.S. and restricted ways to restore things because of, you guessed it, Coronavirus, a resurgence of Ebola in West Africa that made its way to France, grasshopper storms in East Africa that created famine, an overall World Food Bank shortage, the weakened ozone layer spreading to Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Australia, and the Mafia and other organized crime outfits returning and becoming one large international supergroup.


Status Quo- This offers little change and that things will go on as always.
Vaccines developed 18 months after the virus was identified. The worldwide population either became immune or became vaccinated.
Governments are the same, still fighting and still jockeying for position. Only by 2023 did countries like Russia, Britain, and Germany get an increase in population. Science has gone up with life sciences and medicine but others have not fared as well, carrying many of the same innovations from the past decade. Governments put tighter surveillance to monitor Coronavirus.

The scenarios offer many interesting possibilities to the future (looking forward to that 3D printer, augmented reality, and 8G.) Some are more likely than others. If nothing else, the current fight over Confederate flags and statues, a Confederacy that no longer exists, mind you, with people bellowing "Southern Pride" and "Our History," tells us that not many would be willing to accept a Borderless World. Others such as Nation-State Renewal, Status Quo and Two Worlds are closer to potentially happening in real life.
It is interesting to note that Undheim's suggestion for the Two Worlds scenario began with Washington's government putting a wall around itself when shortly after the book's publication, Trump indeed barricaded the White House. However, it was because of fear of BLM protestors not the Coronavirus.
Speaking of Black Lives Matter, since this book was published before the shootings of Ahmoud Arbery, Breona Taylor, and George Floyd, the book doesn't mention what impact the subsequent protests would have on the pandemic. Would they fit in the Two Worlds, revealing the schism between races as well as social class or would the results be something like Hobbesian Chaos, creating a chain reaction of further escalated violence?

Undheim does a commendable job of weighing the various options never saying which is preferred. (In fact all have good and bad points. Even the dystopia in Hobbesian Chaos suggests stronger individuality and closeness to friends and immediate family members.) Of course not all factors are revealed. For example, some mention the people openly defying regulations even calling the Spring Break foolishness "The Florida Massacre" in one possibility, but not how they effect many of these scenarios long term. These actions show more of a forced return to status quo to stabilize the economy and out of sheer frustration from people defying the regulations, rather than the gradual one envisioned in the Status Quo scenario in which people returned to normal after they were told and were still filled with anxiety afterwards.

Undheim occasionally stops his account of the scenarios to give us individuals that live within them including a scientist recognized for his work in the Borderless World, a woman in the Nation-State Renewal concentrating on her stolen childhood, a man from Clean World going slumming in Dirty World for fun, a Norwegian girl in Hobbesian Chaos freezing, hungry, and fearing the Russians who killed her father, and an announcement of the end of the WHO during Status Quo. Each one shows what it's like to live in these worlds, making the scenarios more personal. (In fact Undheim should consider a second career as a science fiction author.)

While Pandemic Aftermath offers tantalizing possibilities for the future, it is the present that is the book's real concern. All or none of these may come true depending on our actions today. The virus needs to be treated and people need to be medicated, but they also need to recognize their own involvement and responsibility in preventing its spread and saving our future.

[Patrik Swanstrøm]

Be prepared!
Trond Undheim has written an impressive book concearning our present crises situatuation. The amount of research, and attentiveness towards what has happened in the world in the last 6 months is just mindblowing. Undheim describes the lack of preparedness which exists in the world. Only two reports have been able to foresee something like the Covid-19 pandemic that we are experiencing. So the lack of preparedness which exists in almost every country is a large part of this book.

The book is also explaining 5 different scenarios which might be happening within the next ten years. The sceanario 1 he calls for "Bordeless world". This is a scenario where technology has managed to solve a lot of the problems. Hygiene has become a natural part of everybodies lives. And nationstates have cease to exist. Kind of a positive secanrio.
Second scenario is "Nation state renewal". Here the nationalistic tendencies has become permanent. Everyone for himself. China has here become the dominant economical factor in the world.
The third sceanrio describes "Two worlds apart". The rich has managed to break lose into their own enclaves. They have created safeguarded areas within cities. And alos paradise like havens on special places on the planet. It evolves into a world where the elites exist in the clean area and the 99% exist in the unclean or dirty or polluted areas.
The fourth sceanario is "Hobbesian chaos". In this scenario technology didnt save us. It prooved us wrong. Blockchain didnt work and 3 D printers didnt work. Instead comes famine and ecological catastrophes.
Fith sceanrio is about "Status qou", Here the world did invent a vaccine and it worked. Living with a virus threat did though become the new normal.

I must admit reading this book has been a challange. Undheims many speculations about the future are interesting but also challanging reading. There are so many "this could happen" moments in the book. And I must say that I am impressed about the knowledge he posseses and how many different stories he manage to tell.
The book contains so many different scopes and possible future developments that it is important reading for everyone. Especially politicians and counselors for governments ought to have this a a necessary read in order to plan strategically.

At the end of the book there is also a chapter adressing each and everyone of us, "Charting the unchartable". How can we accept a post-touch society.
This book raises so many questions, and all of them are valuable. Please read it if you are interested in the future.

[Kevin Mallik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pandemic Aftermath (How Coronavirus Changes Global Society) by Trond is a powerful and very relevant book, considering today’s Covid 19 crises. The book stretches over 450 pages, well it completely provides the coverage as how and under what circumstances Covid -19 can change the world and peoples’ lives. I did take time to finish the book; however, it was worth the time and money.

The most fascinating part of the book is, its DIY and Exercises at the end of the each chapter. This not only revised the chapters but also made learning a smooth process. Before getting into the pandemic – its past and present and future scenarios – the author takes us to back in time when some of the pandemics affected the world, like The Black Death, Influenza, etc. Clearly, societies are bound to change post any pandemic.

While covering the current state of trauma and chaos, the author takes us to future i.e. in the next decade and then with examples shows us how we will be living post this pandemic. To support his work, he created 5 assumptions/hypothetical situations, namely:
• The Borderless World
• Nation-State Renewal
• Two Worlds Apart
• Hobbesian Chaos
• Status Quo

All these assumptions sound surreal and incredible. I enjoyed reading all the situations, laced with quotes and examples and some fictional stories. I have extensively reviewed the book on my blog, probably you may read the full review there: http://www.keveinbooksnreviews.in/202...

[Natasha Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A definate must read! For those concerned with what the next day holds, this book uses an easy-to-understand language, whilst holding the readers attention until the final page! I'm astonished at the way Trond Undheim predicts the future in such a realistic way; a true genius of the 21st century.