ABSTRACT
This chapter situates the discourse of globalization and health within some theoretical precepts. A structuralist approach, derived from Giddens’ structuration theory, examines levels of responsibilities and how structural arrangement influences population health. The structural focus is on levels of health determinants, including super-macro, macro, meso and micro processes. The chapter explores the risk society theory with some in-depth reflection on the notions and characters of risk society. The central polemic is that the globalized world offers both opportunities and risks, especially widespread manufactured risk. The last perspective is the political economy of globalization and health. The chapter examines the notion that development inequalities lead to global health inequalities. The main focus is on Wallerstein’s theory as a typical materialist approach to explaining global health, herein described as global health systems. Both risk society and political economy perspectives reiterate that, due to global relations, profound adverse health consequences are more prevalent in the less developed regions.
