LIST OF PANELS

The outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa is a stark reminder of the critical importance of public health infrastructure and that providing this infrastructure is a major challenge of governance. Therefore, learning the lessons from the 2014 outbreak of the Ebola virus requires the insights not only of public health but also of political science. The premise of this panel is that the uncontrolled spread and impact of the Ebola virus is the result of a failure in local, regional, national and global governance (Fidler 2014). Therefore, we invite papers that analyse the Ebola outbreak using the theoretical insights of political science. Examples of how this might be done include: ·      Comparative and case study papers that draw on theories of development, failed states, and comparative politics more generally to try and explain the inability of countries to mount an effective response. ·      Papers that draw on theories of global governance and international organization to offer insight into the role of the World Health Organization and other international bodies that mobilized to respond to the crisis. ·      Papers that draw on social science research on the role of non-states actors in global governance to better understand the role of Médecins sans frontiers, the Gates Foundation, and many others in the management of the Ebola crisis. ·      Theoretically informed papers that analyze the politics within donor countries as actors within, non-governmental organizations, and others used a variety of strategies and tactics put the Ebola crisis on the agenda, mobilize action and push for an effective response.   This is by no means an exhaustive list and we invite papers that apply other theoretical and conceptual tools from political science in order to better understand the 2014 Ebola outbreak and how we might prevent similar crises in the future.

The outbreak of the Ebola virus in West Africa is a stark reminder of the critical importance of public health infrastructure and that providing this infrastructure is a major challenge of governance. Therefore, learning the lessons from the 2014 outbreak of the Ebola virus requires the insights not only of public health but also of political science (de Leew et al. 2014). The premise of this panel is that the uncontrolled spread and impact of the Ebola virus is the result of a failure in local, national and global governance (Fidler 2014). Therefore, we invite papers that analyse the Ebola outbreak using the theoretical insights of political science. Examples of how this might be done include: ·      Rather than just describe the inadequate response of local authorities and ascribe it to the weakness of local health systems, the challenge is to explain why this inherent weakness exists and how it came about. For this panel we are looing for comparative and case study papers that draw on theories of development, failed states, and comparative politics more generally to try and explain the inability of countries to mount an effective response. ·      Critics of the World Health Organization emphasize the inability of the WHO to quickly mobilize sufficient resources. Proponents of the organisation point to its chronic underfunding and erosion of its leadership capabilities. What do theories of global governance and international organization have to say about the particular case of the WHO and infectious disease?  ·      The Ebola crisis of 2014 also demonstrates the often powerful role that non-state actors play in the control of infectious disease.  Médecins sans Frontières and the Gates Foundation have played key roles. For this panel we are looking for papers that draw on social science research on the role of non-states actors in global governance to better understand the way the Ebola crisis was managed. ·      The size of the Ebola crisis is attributed, rightly or wrongly, to the inability of donor countries to recognize the problem and quickly mobilize appropriate and sufficient resource. Therefore, we invite theoretically informed papers that analyze the politics within donor countries as actors used a variety of strategies and tactics put the Ebola crisis on the agenda, mobilize action and push for an effective response.   This is by no means an exhaustive list and we invite papers that apply other theoretical and conceptual tools from political science in order to better understand the 2014 Ebola outbreak and how we might prevent similar crises in the future.  The overall goal is an integrated collection of papers that demonstrates the utility of political science to public health theory and practice (de Leeuw et. al. 2014) and offers theoretically informed insights into the unfolding Ebola crisis in West Africa.   de Leeuw, Evelyne, Carole Clavier, and Eric Breton. 2014. “Health Policy - Why Research It and How: Health Political Science.” Health Research Policy and Systems 12(1):55. Fidler, David P. 2014. “Ebola and Global Health Governance: Time for the Reckoning.” Chatham House. Retrieved September 23, 2014 (http://www.chathamhouse.org/expert/comment/15811).