ArticleGlobalization and health2022
Does international trade and investment liberalization facilitate corporate power in nutrition and alcohol policymaking? Applying an integrated political economy and power analysis approach to a case study of South Africa.
Article in Globalization and health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers.
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Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed.
- Towards Stronger Gambling Regulation in Ghana: A Critical Frame Analysis of Ghana Gaming Act.Public health challenges · 2026Article
- Ultra processed foods and their inputs increasingly dominate New Zealand's food and beverage imports: a retrospective analysis.Globalization and health · 2026Article
- Alcohol industry involvement in the delayed South Africa Draft Liquor Amendment Bill 2016: a case study based on freedom of information requests.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- Stakeholder perceptions on the impact of trade and investment agreements on nutrition policy space in small island developing states.Globalization and health · 2025Article
- The influence of crisis on policy formulation: the case of alcohol regulation in South Africa during COVID-19 (2020-21).Health policy and planning · 2024Article
- The threat of gambling to public health in Ghana: time to act.Perspectives in public health · 2024Article
- Corporate social responsibility, policy framing and strategic marketing: understanding the alcohol industry's use of social media in Uganda.Substance abuse treatment, prevention, and policy · 2024Article
- Beyond political will: unpacking the drivers of (non) health reforms in sub-Saharan Africa.BMJ global health · 2022Review
- Understanding the Complexities of Eliminating Trans Fatty Acids: The Case of the Trans Fatty Acid Ban in Thailand.Nutrients · 2022Article
- Do international trade and investment agreements generate regulatory chill in public health policymaking? A case study of nutrition and alcohol policy in South Africa.Globalization and health · 2021Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundWhile there is a growing body of legally-focused analyses exploring the potential restrictions on public health policy space due to international trade rules, few studies have adopted a more politically-informed approach. This paper applies an integrated political economy and power analysis approach to understand how power relations and dynamics emerging as a result of the international trade and investment regime influence nutrition and alcohol regulatory development in a case study of South Africa.
methodsWe interviewed 36 key stakeholders involved in nutrition, alcohol and/or trade/investment policymaking in South Africa. Interview transcripts and notes were imported into NVivo and analyzed using thematic analysis. We used a conceptual framework for analyzing power in health policymaking to guide the analysis.
resultsUnder the neoliberal paradigm that promotes trade liberalization and market extension, corporate power in nutrition and alcohol policymaking has been entrenched in South Africa via various mechanisms. These include via close relationships between economic policymakers and industry; institutional structures that codify industry involvement in all policy development but restrict health input in economic and trade policy decisions; limited stakeholder knowledge of the broader linkages between trade/investment and food/alcohol environments; high evidentiary requirements to prove public health policy effectiveness; both deliberate use of neoliberal frames/narratives as well as processes of socialization and internalization of neoliberal ideas/values shaping perceptions and policy preferences and ultimately generating policy norms prioritizing economic/trade over health objectives.
conclusionsExposing power in policymaking can expand our own ideational boundaries of what is required to promote transformative policy change. This work points to a number of potential strategies for challenging corporate power in nutrition and alcohol policymaking in the context of international trade and investment liberalization in South Africa.
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