Brazil and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control: Global Health Diplomacy as Soft Power

Abstract

This paper examines the process by which Brazil asserted influence in the negotiation of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) as an example of soft power. Implemented under the bylaws of the World Health Organization (WHO), the FCTC has been the product of multi-level and multi-actor negotiation processes that define “global health diplomacy”. A fuller understanding of Brazil's contribution to the FCTC provides insights into the pursuit of global health cooperation alongside broader foreign policy objectives, as well as the emerging practice of global health diplomacy.