Shaping the global: knowledge, experts, and US universities in the emergence of global health

The term 'global health' has become the dominant way to describe worldwide interventions on health since the 2000s. Despite significant discussions about the meaning of the term, there is still a lack of understanding about how it came to dominate global thinking and the implications of such a shift. This article traces the emergence and diffusion of 'global health' as a concept. It focuses particularly on the role of US experts and universities in shaping the 'global'. It uses a combination of interviews, literature review and archives to trace its apparition in expert discourses and diffusion in universities. It shows that the definition of 'global health' came out of and contributed to American dominance in globalization. In addition to bringing a fresh perspective on the origins of global health, the paper contributes to the globalization debates by showing the co-constitution of scientific and political fields in globalization.