Author : Eduardo J. Gomez
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780549897101
Total Pages : 535 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (971 download)
Book Synopsis Responding to Contested Epidemics: Democracy, International Pressures, and the Civic Sources of Institutional Change in the United States and Brazil by : Eduardo J. Gomez
Download or read book Responding to Contested Epidemics: Democracy, International Pressures, and the Civic Sources of Institutional Change in the United States and Brazil written by Eduardo J. Gomez and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why don't old and new democracies immediately respond to health epidemics? And especially within large, highly decentralized federations, why don't central governments create effective bureaucratic institutions that can help municipal governments immediately respond to the needs of civil society? These are the puzzling questions that motivated this doctoral research. What the findings in this dissertation reveal was that both well established democracies, such as the United States, and nascent ones, such as Brazil, did not immediately respond to the needs of civil society whenever new health epidemics emerged. Notwithstanding incessant pressures from civil society and public health bureaucrats, presidents and supportive congressional members only responded when epidemics either posed a direct national security threat or when global pressures created incentives to respond. As seen in the United States, since the early-20 th century epidemic threats to the military's fighting capabilities have prompted an immediate institution-building response: that is, the creation of new federal agencies and programs to assistant municipalities. Absent these conditions, and as recently seen with the fight against AIDS and obesity, the US has not responded in this manner. The government's continued isolation from the international health community has hampered institution-building efforts. In contrast, Brazil's continued receptivity to international pressures and eagerness to increase its reputation as a nation capable of combating disease has led to different institutional outcomes whenever new global pressures emerge. Since the early-20th century and up to the current response to AIDS, international pressures, reputation building, and securing the financial means to achieve this has led to a very aggressive and persistent institution-building effort. Absent these conditions, both historically and as recently seen with the response to Tuberculosis, this outcome has not occurred. Methodologically, this dissertation used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. With regards to qualitative methods, in-depth interviews, primary archival evidence, and case studies were used. Quantitatively, this work relied on epidemiological evidence obtained from departments of health in the United States and Brazil. All together, this works submits an in-depth historical and contemporary analysis of how the United States and Brazil responded to health epidemics throughout the 20th century.
