From Development Aid to Foreign Policy: Global Immunization Efforts as a Turning Point for Norwegian Engagement in Global Health

Abstract

States' foreign policies have broadened in recent years due to increased interdependence and globalization. With this trend, global health issues have become part of the foreign policies of many countries, including Norway. This article is an empirical study that traces the Norwegian case of the formation of a ‘health as foreign policy’ agenda. The article combines a foreign policy lens with an analytical focus on global–national interfaces to describe the interaction between Norwegian government institutions and individuals and the global health arena. Weight is placed on the domestic arena. The article suggests that the transition of global health from being a subject of development aid to becoming part of the foreign policy agenda started at the turn of the millennium with the creation of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization and the leadership of Brundtland in the World Health Organization. The study finds that new conceptualizations of global health in relation to economic growth and prosperity, in combination with individual Norwegian policy practitioners working within global health initiatives, engaged the political leadership and led to a growing number of actors on the domestic arena now working in relation to an increasingly complex global governance structure on health. Global health is an area where power‐shifts towards emerging developing countries have progressed substantially. In this light, the article seeks to draw analytical lessons on the need for novel approaches to study countries' interaction with global governance arenas that can replace the narrrow focus on donor vs recipient relations.