International Relations and the Global Politics of Health: A State of the Art?

Despite consistent political attention to health-related issues crossing national borders, public health and international relations have not engaged in a coherent dialogue. Public health scholars denounce studies of politics as not directly relevant to the governance of health, which they envisage as based on evidence and medical knowledge. The marginal place of the global politics of health in international relations is surprising given the richness of political interactions, diversity of actors involved, and the existential nature of health politics. This article outlines the main themes in the literature on global and public health politics, highlights the points of convergence and divergence, and discusses how we can build on the strengths and overcome the differences in search of a more comprehensive dialogue between the two disciplines.