IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v74y2012i1p6-13.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Globalisation and health inequalities: Can a human rights paradigm create space for civil society action?

Author

Listed:
  • London, Leslie
  • Schneider, Helen

Abstract

While neoliberal globalisation is associated with increasing inequalities, global integration has simultaneously strengthened the dissemination of human rights discourse across the world. This paper explores the seeming contradiction that globalisation is conceived as disempowering nations states’ ability to act in their population’s interests, yet implementation of human rights obligations requires effective states to deliver socio-economic entitlements, such as health. Central to the actions required of the state to build a health system based on a human rights approach is the notion of accountability. Two case studies are used to explore the constraints on states meeting their human rights obligations regarding health, the first drawing on data from interviews with parliamentarians responsible for health in East and Southern Africa, and the second reflecting on the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in South Africa. The case studies illustrate the importance of a human rights paradigm in strengthening parliamentary oversight over the executive in ways that prioritise pro-poor protections and in increasing leverage for resources for the health sector within parliamentary processes. Further, a rights framework creates the space for civil society action to engage with the legislature to hold public officials accountable and confirms the importance of rights as enabling civil society mobilization, reinforcing community agency to advance health rights for poor communities. In this context, critical assessment of state incapacity to meet claims to health rights raises questions as to the diffusion of accountability rife under modern international aid systems. Such diffusion of accountability opens the door to ‘cunning’ states to deflect rights claims of their populations. We argue that human rights, as both a normative framework for legal challenges and as a means to create room for active civil society engagement provide a means to contest both the real and the purported constraints imposed by globalisation.

Suggested Citation

  • London, Leslie & Schneider, Helen, 2012. "Globalisation and health inequalities: Can a human rights paradigm create space for civil society action?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(1), pages 6-13.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:1:p:6-13
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953611001857
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2011.03.022?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Doyle, Cathal & Patel, Preeti, 2008. "Civil society organisations and global health initiatives: Problems of legitimacy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1928-1938, May.
    2. Sakiko Fukuda-Parr & Terra Lawson-Remer & Susan Randolph, 2008. "Measuring the Progressive Realization of Human Rights Obligations: An Index of Economic and Social Rights Fulfillment," Economic Rights Working Papers 8, University of Connecticut, Human Rights Institute.
    3. Kilby, Patrick, 2006. "Accountability for Empowerment: Dilemmas Facing Non-Governmental Organizations," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 951-963, June.
    4. Schneider, Helen & Stein, Joanne, 2001. "Implementing AIDS policy in post-apartheid South Africa," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 52(5), pages 723-731, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ulrike Zschache & Maria Theiss & Maria Paschou, 2021. "What Is Solidarity About? Views of Transnational Organisations’ Activists in Germany, Poland, and Greece," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 26(3), pages 628-648, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Prasheela Karan & Jung-Sook Lee & Richard Hugman, 2021. "Combatting Gender Oppression: Applying Intersectionality in Microfinance Self-help Groups," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 33(6), pages 1649-1665, December.
    2. Burger Ronelle & Owens Trudy & Prakash Aseem, 2018. "Global Non-Profit Chains and the Challenges of Development Aid Contracting," Nonprofit Policy Forum, De Gruyter, vol. 9(4), pages 1-12, December.
    3. Borzaga, Carlo & Fazzi, Luca, 2014. "Civil society, third sector, and healthcare: The case of social cooperatives in Italy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 234-241.
    4. Sebastian-Ion Ceptureanu & Eduard-Gabriel Ceptureanu & Mihai Cristian Orzan & Irinel Marin, 2017. "Toward a Romanian NPOs Sustainability Model: Determinants of Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-26, June.
    5. Nichols, Carly, 2020. "Nutrition sensitive agriculture: An equity-based analysis from India," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    6. Dewi, Miranti Kartika & Manochin, Melina & Belal, Ataur, 2021. "Towards a conceptual framework of beneficiary accountability by NGOs: An Indonesian case study," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    7. Dickson-Gomez, Julia & Corbett, A. Michelle & Bodnar, Gloria & Rodriguez, Karla & Guevara, Carmen E., 2010. "Resources and obstacles to developing and implementing a structural intervention to prevent HIV in San Salvador, El Salvador," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(3), pages 351-359, February.
    8. Palash Kamruzzaman, 2020. "Exploring the Nexus Between Participation and Empowerment," Journal of Development Policy and Practice, , vol. 5(1), pages 32-53, January.
    9. Beck, Erin, 2016. "Repopulating Development: An Agent-Based Approach to Studying Development Interventions," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 19-32.
    10. Ben Jones, 2017. "Looking Good: Mediatisation and International NGOs," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(1), pages 176-191, January.
    11. Dorothea Baur & Hans Schmitz, 2012. "Corporations and NGOs: When Accountability Leads to Co-optation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 106(1), pages 9-21, March.
    12. Owczarzak, Jill & Kazi, Asiya K. & Mazhnaya, Alyona & Alpatova, Polina & Zub, Tatyana & Filippova, Olga & Phillips, Sarah D., 2021. "“You're nobody without a piece of paper:” visibility, the state, and access to services among women who use drugs in Ukraine," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    13. Langyintuo, Augustine S. & Setimela, Peter, 2009. "Assessing the effectiveness of a technical assistance program: The case of maize seed relief to vulnerable households in Zimbabwe," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 377-387, August.
    14. Maya Unnithan & Carolyn Heitmeyer, 2014. "Challenges in ‘Translating’ Human Rights: Perceptions and Practices of Civil Society Actors in Western India," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 45(6), pages 1361-1384, November.
    15. Duval, Anne-Marie & Gendron, Yves & Roux-Dufort, Christophe, 2015. "Exhibiting nongovernmental organizations: Reifying the performance discourse through framing power," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 31-53.
    16. Hyman Zyl & Frederik Claeyé, 2019. "Up and Down, and Inside Out: Where do We Stand on NGO Accountability?," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 31(3), pages 604-619, July.
    17. Corus, Canan & Ozanne, Julie L., 2012. "Stakeholder engagement: Building participatory and deliberative spaces in subsistence markets," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 65(12), pages 1728-1735.
    18. Banks, Nicola & Hulme, David & Edwards, Michael, 2015. "NGOs, States, and Donors Revisited: Still Too Close for Comfort?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 707-718.
    19. Nelson, Paul J. & Dorsey, Ellen, 2018. "Who practices rights-based development? A progress report on work at the nexus of human rights and development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 97-107.
    20. Dhanani, Alpa, 2019. "Identity constructions in the annual reports of international development NGOs: Preserving institutional interests?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 1-31.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:1:p:6-13. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.