IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/revint/v19y2024i2d10.1007_s11558-023-09510-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Soft governance against superbugs: How effective is the international regime on antimicrobial resistance?

Author

Listed:
  • Mirko Heinzel

    (University of Glasgow
    London School of Economics and Political Science)

  • Mathias Koenig-Archibugi

    (London School of Economics and Political Science)

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and the declining effectiveness of antibiotic medicines due to misuse are among the biggest threats to global health and a major challenge for global governance in this century. Since drug-resistant bacteria spread easily across borders, government policies that exacerbate or mitigate AMR affect other countries. International organizations and governments addressed the global public good of maintaining antimicrobial protection by creating a soft governance regime largely devoid of legally binding rules and enforcement mechanisms. This article presents a cross-national empirical assessment of the effectiveness of the international AMR regime combining novel data on national action plans and data on antibiotic consumption in 191 countries between 2000 and 2018. We find that the regime sets ambitious goals and achieves broad participation, substantial implementation, and meaningful change in the use of antibiotics. The involvement of the largest consumers of antibiotics has been crucial for both effectiveness and equity.

Suggested Citation

  • Mirko Heinzel & Mathias Koenig-Archibugi, 2024. "Soft governance against superbugs: How effective is the international regime on antimicrobial resistance?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 345-374, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:revint:v:19:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11558-023-09510-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s11558-023-09510-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11558-023-09510-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11558-023-09510-7?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.

    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:spr:revint:v:19:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s11558-023-09510-7. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.