The Changing Landscape of Global Health Diplomacy

In late 2012, the CSIS Global Health Policy Center organized a working group to analyze the opportunities for global health diplomacy in Barack Obama’s second term. This volume presents those analyses. Taken together, the studies show that the world of global health diplomacy is quite dynamic at the moment, with new partners setting trends while traditional actors are reconfiguring their views and practices. As the Obama administration moves into a second term, there are numerous opportunities for U.S. diplomats to coordinate on global health goals with middle income countries such as Brazil, Chile, Mexico, and South Korea; to learn more about how Russia and China continue to build their outreach and assistance capacities; and to strengthen existing relationships with Canada, Japan, and Europe to shore up support and innovation in the global commitment to public health.

The studies are loosely grouped around three themes. Two papers identify the ways in which traditional donors and providers of foreign assistance for global health, namely the European countries and Japan, are refining their approaches in the face of financial challenges. In a second set of analyses focused on Russia and China, two papers examine how these influential but relative newcomers to global health diplomacy use outreach on development to build political and economic influence in key regions. A third area of inquiry is the role that emerging powers and middle income countries are playing. Individually, the papers in this volume offer key insights regarding the background, experience, and politics that shape each country’s approach to global health diplomacy. At the same time, they pinpoint clear and specific opportunities for U.S. engagement through existing bilateral and multilateral channels while offering suggestions regarding what topics or themes may be most promising for enhanced diplomatic coordination and action.