Abstract
The political pathology of SARS tells a tale of transition for governance on infectious disease threats. This chapter focuses on the beginning of this journey in order to explain the traditional governance structure and dynamics that determined how and why infectious disease threats were handled internationally. I do not provide a comprehensive and detailed history of international cooperation on infectious diseases; such histories have already been written (Howard-Jones, 1975; Goodman, 1971). Rather, this chapter has a conceptual orientation designed to provide a simple yet accurate picture of public health governance within the Westphalian system of international politics. The case study on the International Health Regulations (IHR) helps put the conceptual analysis into a more concrete form.
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© 2004 David P. Fidler
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Fidler, D.P. (2004). Public Health and the Westphalian System of International Politics. In: SARS, Governance and the Globalization of Disease. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230006263_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230006263_3
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-51658-2
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-00626-3
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