A World South-Side Up?

Abstract

In an attempt to decolonize (the history of) global health, this paper aims to do three things. First, it claims that transposing the Enlightenment notion of a social contract in public health from a European to a global context has been an artificial move, and is in fact an artefact of colonial times. Secondly, it suggests a new kind of periodization for public and global health, using three consecutive logics which connect the motives of rulers and administrators to the perceived needs of their populations. Finally, it identifies several ‘technologies of control’ which are strategically used to come to an understanding of the practices (rather than the ideologies or blueprints) of global health.