Health in Canadian foreign policy: the role of norms and security interests
ABSTRACT Despite health’s prominent place in Canadian foreign policy, as evidenced in the on-going support for maternal newborn and child health (MNCH) initiatives, little is known about the driving forces behind the integration of health into foreign policy. Based on document analysis and expert interviews, we provide an empirically grounded but theoretically informed perspective on health’s role in Canadian foreign policy. We argue that the integration of health into Canadian foreign policy cannot be understood by drawing on a single theoretical perspective. Instead we suggest that the integration of health into foreign policy follows competing logics, depending on whether or not health concerns intersect with high politics (such as national security and economic interests). In cases where health is directly or indirectly related to major security threats, realist theory (and the securitization logic) can best explain health’s positioning in foreign policy by highlighting the role that state interests play in maximizing security. In instances where health is not related to high politics concerns, liberal internationalism with its focus on the cultural and normative driving forces provides a more useful theoretical understanding of how or why health enters foreign policy prominence.