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Globalization and Health
Published in: Globalization and Health 1/2018

Open Access 01-12-2018 | Review

Civil society in global health policymaking: a critical review

Author: Eduardo J. Gómez

Published in: Globalization and Health | Issue 1/2018

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Abstract

Background

A social science approach to the study of civil society’s role and influence in global health policymaking is a new area of scholarly research. In this article, I conduct a critical literature review to assess the recent research done on this topic.

Main body

I find that most research has been narrowly focused on the agenda-setting and policy implementation stages, failing to account for all stages of the policymaking process and civil society’s role in it. Additionally, very little effort has been made to test and develop theoretical and analytical policymaking frameworks, clearly and consistently defining and conceptualizing civil society’s role and influence in global health policymaking, provide methodological specificity and diversity, while emphasizing the importance of causal mechanisms.

Conclusion

I conclude by encouraging scholars to address these lacuna in the literature and to explore the utility of political science theory and alternative policymaking models to better define and explain the complexity of civil society’s role and influence in global health policymaking processes.
Footnotes
1
Nevertheless, I also acknowledge that while my search is focused on specific search terms, more of an effort could be made to include other terms that is consistent with my aforementioned definition of civil society. For example, by including search terms such as “faith-based groups” “trade unions” and “women’s groups,” several additional articles could have been found, providing a broader, more in-depth understanding of how these various civil societal actors may influence global health policymaking. I encourage future researches to address this limitation with my literature review.
 
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Metadata
Title
Civil society in global health policymaking: a critical review
Author
Eduardo J. Gómez
Publication date
01-12-2018
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Globalization and Health / Issue 1/2018
Electronic ISSN: 1744-8603
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-018-0393-2

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