Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Comment
. 2015 Mar 4;4(5):311-4.
doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2015.47.

The politics of researching global health politics Comment on "Knowledge, moral claims and the exercise of power in global health"

Affiliations
Comment

The politics of researching global health politics Comment on "Knowledge, moral claims and the exercise of power in global health"

Simon Rushton. Int J Health Policy Manag. .

Abstract

In this comment, I build on Shiffman's call for the global health community to more deeply investigate structural and productive power. I highlight two challenges we must grapple with as social scientists carrying out the types of investigation that Shiffman proposes: the politics of challenging the powerful; and the need to investigate types of expertise that have traditionally been thought of as 'outside' global health. In doing so, I argue that moving forward with the agenda Shiffman sets out requires social scientists interested in the global politics of health to be reflexive about our own exercise of structural and productive power and the fact that researching global health politics is itself a political undertaking.

Keywords: Global Health; Knowledge; Politics; Reflexivity; Research.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment on

References

    1. Shiffman J. Knowledge, moral claims and the exercise of power in global health. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2014;3:297–9. doi: 10.15171/ijhpm.2014.120. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shiffman J. A social explanation for the rise and fall of global health issues. Bull World Health Organ. 2009;87:608–13. doi: 10.2471/blt.08.060749. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Shiffman J, Smith S. Generation of political priority for global health initiatives: a framework and case study of maternal mortality. Lancet. 2007;370:1370–9. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(07)61579-7. - DOI - PubMed
    1. New Statesman. Tony Benn (1925-2014): ten of his greatest quotes. 14 March 2014 [cited 29 January 2015]. Available from: http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/03/tony-benn-1925-2014-ten-his....
    1. Finlay L, Gough B. Reflexivity: A Practical Guide for Researchers in Health and Social Sciences. Oxford: Blackwell; 2003.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources