The World Health Organization Between North and South

Chorev does a thorough job of discussing the political, social, and economic factors that moved global culture from principles of equity (the importance of health to social development) to a more market-oriented and technological focus in the 1980s, with the rise of more international organizations, private foundations, and principles of cost effectiveness, with health seen as good for economic growth and productivity. -Choice (1 December 2012)

Nitsan Chorev provides an in-depth exploration of the institution and its secretariat during two phases where there was great political pressure on the delivery of the WHO's mandate: the pursuit of health for all. Chorev's use of archival research presents the WHO as a living, breathing organism, which has individuals with beliefs of their own and agendas that they pursue, sometimes in conflict with the interests driving states' engagement in the institution. -Sara Davies, International Affairs (May 2013)

In her latest book, Nitsan Chorev weaves a fascinating and compelling narrative in describing the evolution of policy making at the World Health Organization (WHO) during the late 20th century. . . . . [T]his book will be required reading for students of international organizations, global inequality, and macrocomparative approaches to health and development. Chorev's study offers an important examination into world-level processes that are ignored, or only briefly alluded to, in other research. As such, her book will change the way scholars view international organizations and the role that they perform in constructing policy and shaping the global development agenda.-American Journal of Sociology (May 2013)

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been the subject of considerable angst over the past two decades.... Chorev's book is timely, in this context, offering new insights into the complex, sometimes obscure, politics engaged in by an international organization with roots in the nineteenth century but at the frontline of contemporary efforts to transition into global governance in the early twenty-first century. -Kelley Lee, The Review of International Organizations (2013)

[Chorev's] two lines of argument structure a well-executed and illuminating history of the WHO and key global health issues such as tobacco control, primary care, health systems strengthening and access to essential medicines. It should be especially widely read in global health governance, which needs more work like this. - Scott L. Greer, Political Studies Review (2015)

This book fills a gap in works on the World Health Organization and its role in the global health regime. It fits well with other recent work on international organization bureaucracies by showing how the WHO's secretariat was able to deal with demands of member states in two critical periods and to protect the organization's own interests and core principles. Nitsan Chorev provides a particularly strong picture of the importance of the director general's leadership (or absence thereof). This very readable account will be valuable for political scientists, sociologists, and public health experts alike. -Margaret P. Karns, University of Dayton, coauthor of International Organizations: The Politics and Processes of Global Governance

This is a terrific book. The World Health Organization between North and South is an important contribution to our understanding of global governance. Nitsan Chorev traces the evolution of the World Health Organization as it has navigated vastly different external environments and interacted with new players, including private firms and foundations. The WHO is portrayed as a notably deft manager of changing strategic environments, constraints, and opportunities. In the process it has been able to stay true to its avowed mission. -Susan K. Sell, The George Washington University, author of Private Power, Public Law: The Globalization of Intellectual Property Rights