Health Policy, Politics and Governance

Health and health care are inherently political. At a fundamental level, decisions on whether to prioritize good health are about the value that a polity ascribes to human life. More practically, safeguarding health and providing care involves opportunity costs, and decisions on who gets what, when and how. Since this implies that not all lives are valued equally, societal efforts to promote the health of some over others question the very social contract that citizens have with the modern (welfare) state. Many political scientists took notice of these questions during Covid-19, and studies of health in the field proliferated in the years which followed, focusing primarily on the pandemic. While attention faded as societies got accustomed to a new status quo, ordinary health politics remain a fruitful field of study for the discipline. Yet, there remains a dearth of attention to health and healthcare within the political science scholarship. The purpose of this section is to showcase and advance political science scholarship addressing health and healthcare. The proposed panels cover a range of themes, addressing interest groups and participatory politics, corporate political activity and governance, the politics of health technology innovation, and the influence of corporate actors over health. The section is endorsed and organised by the Health Policy, Politics and Governance (Health-PPG) Research Network, newly established ECPR research network following a successful joint sessions workshop in May 2025. Additional activities The section will be part of a wider programmes of activities organised by the Health-PPG Network, including a Network meeting, social event, and a workshop aimed at fostering collaborations and supporting early-career researchers.