it is difficult to disagree with the general argument that successful health reform requires a significant degree of policy capacity or that all players in the policy game need to move beyond self-interested advocacy. however, an overly broad definition of policy capacity is a problem. more important perhaps, health reform inevitably requires not just policy capacity but political leadership an...

let us start with an example of health policy analysis in action. within that category of countries loosely known as ‘the west’, quite basic differences exist in attitudes to health policy and also actual health policy. comparing the us with mainland europe and indeed canada, for example, one perceives a difference in attitude on the part of the majority towards collectivism and individualism i...

Jeremy Shiffman's editorial appropriately calls on making all forms of power more apparent and accountable, notably productive power derived from expertise and claims to moral authority. This commentary argues that relationships based on productive power can be especially difficult to reveal in global health policy because of embedded notions about the nature of power and politics. Yet, it is e...

Shiffman recently summarized lessons for network effectiveness from an impressive collection of case-studies. However, in common with most global health governance analysis in recent years, Shiffman underplays the important role of states in these global networks. As the body which decides and signs international agreements, often provides the resourcing, and is responsible for implementing ini...

disease; the impact of the APO E genotype on health, nutrition and fitness; nutrition in the prevention of chronic disease; and, the connection between exercise and obesity. The formation is concluded by the papers on nutritional risk factors for gastrointestinal cancers, Mediterranean diets as a global resource in health and disease, and the role of politics and politicians on the relevant iss...

Following the development discussion in the last volume on the 'politics of health', Jennifer Prah Ruger argues that the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) represents a shift in global health policy that recognizes the importance of addressing health needs on multiple fronts and integrating public policies into a comprehensive set of health improvement strategies. She argues that th...

1Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters, Institute of Health and Society, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium; 2Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; 3Department of Public Health, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium; 4Department of Politics and International Studies (POLIS), University of Cambridge, UK; 5Chatham H...

There is a growing global market in healthcare and patients. And while there is a small body of evidence emerging around this phenomenon commonly known as medical tourism there remain significant unanswered policy and research questions which need to be addressed. We outline some of the key issues set against the six key disciplinary preoccupations of the journal: epidemiology, health economics...