Rituals of global health
Negotiating the World Health Assembly
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15540323 |
|---|---|
| Authors | R Irwin (0000-0002-8350-441X, Lund University, corresponding author), R Smith (0000-0003-3837-6559, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine) |
| Year | 2018 |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 161-174 |
| Publication date | 2018-08-13 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Global Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17441692.2018.1504104 |
| PMID | 30101660 |
| OpenAlex | W2885794426 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 8 |
| References cited | 23 |
The World Health Assembly is the WHO's supreme decision-making body and consists of representatives from the 194 WHO Member States who take formal decisions on the WHO's policies, workplan and budget. The event is also attended by representatives of non-governmental organisations, the private sector, the press and even members of the public. Based on participant observation at six World Health Assemblies, in-depth interviews with 53 delegates to the WHA, and an analysis of WHA Official Records, this article examines the ritualistic aspects of WHA negotiations. We argue that analysing the WHA as a ritual provides an insight into power and legitimacy within global health. Not only are certain understandings of health issues and courses of actions decided by the Assembly, but also the very boundaries of global health community are set. The rules of the ritual place limits on different categories of actors, while both formal and informal rules of behaviour further serve to include or exclude actors from the rituals. Success in negotiation is measured by through the inclusion of certain ideas, norms and values in the wording of resolutions and is achieved through the repetition of language in speeches and by adhering to the rules of behaviour
Economic growth · Global health · Negotiation · Political science · Public health · Global Public Health Policies and Epidemiology · Global Security and Public Health · Health and Conflict Studies · Medicine · Nursing
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Focal Times and Spaces
Normative convergence between global health security and universal health coverage
Framing alcohol harm in the UN context – the importance of language
Learning to Lead at the WHO
Negotiating the Opening of International Organizations to Non-State Actors
Influencing the global governance of alcohol
Ethnographies of global health governance and diplomacy
Ambiguity and verbal disguise within diplomatic culture
The World Health Organization between North and South
Ritual, politics, and power
The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life
Power
Analysing Discourse
World Culture
Collaborative Event Ethnography
The significance of meetings in an American mental health center
Business, Biodiversity and New ′Fields′ of conservation
The Ritual Process. Structure and Anti-Structure
Bureaucratic aspects of international health agencies
The bureaucratic context of international health
The Anthropology of Performance
Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors
The Ritual Process
Infinity within the Brackets
Ritual, Power and Ethnography at the Rio Earth Summit
Modern Political Ritual
| Unique citing works | 8 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,33 |
| Citation span | 2020 - 2025 (6) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 8 |