A Research On Canada's Roles In The Global Health Governance

After the Cold War,with the rapid development of globalization,there are ever growing integration and interdependence of countries.While producing enormous benefits,it has also posed new challenges to the global health governance.The long-term threats like AIDS,malaria,tuberculosis and non-communicable diseases have yet been reported to get rid of,while some emerging infectious diseases such as SARS,Ebola,avian flu,Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Zika have hit the human world unexpectedly.Obviously,public health has become not so much a domestic issue of one single country as a huge challenge that all countries must face together.As a result,countries are stimulated to undertake cross-border health cooperation and participate in the global health governance deeply.As the basic component of the international community,sovereign states are the most important actors involved in the global health governance.However,the past literature and works in the international relations and global health governance have focused mostly on the great powers' roles and actions in this regard,while the roles of small and middle powers' in the global health governance have been ignored or received far less attention.Canada is considered to be a traditional middle power.Despite its limited population,military and diplomatic strengths,Canada has made indispensable contributions to the global health governance and even played a leading role in some certain areas.This unique phenomenon of “middle power's leadership” is worth exploring.This thesis focuses on Canada's involvement in the global health governance.Under the theoretical frame of Canada as a Liberal Internationalist Middle Power,it explores Canada's role and approaches in and to the global health governance as well as the main driving forces behind its decision-making in this area.Through four in-depth cases studies,namely Canada and the establishment of the World Health Organization,Canada and the development of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control,Canada and the launch of the Muskoka Initiative for Maternal and Child Health,and Canada's fight against SARS and Ebola epidemics,the thesis finds that Canada has not only participated extensively and widely in the global health governance,but also played a key role during some specific periods in some certain areas,including promoting the establishment of global health governance mechanisms,advancing the development of global health norms,investing in global health assistance and supporting global health actions.In the process of active participation in the global health governance,Canada has alternately played the role of an active “participant” and a “leader”,and has displayed preference for multilateral cooperation approach.This thesis argues that the “Liberal internationalism” theory in Canada's foreign policy can provide credible interpretations for these two roles and the preference for cooperation approach.The role switching between the active “participant” and the “leader” is driven by many domestic and international factors.This thesis concludes that in the “low politics” of the international affairs like the global health governance,Canada has both intention and capabilities to act as the leading promoter and the leader.Although this leading role is difficult to maintain in a systematic and sustainable manner,restricted by the limited overall national strength and resources of a middle power,yet Canada can still provide leadership periodically in selective areas and make considerable contributions to the resolving of the inherent dilemmas of the global health governance.