Viral geography and global risks: the circulation of health risks in the context of global health governance

It is widely asserted that we live today in a globalized world governed by dense flows and constant fluidity, structuring as such a generalized perception of hypermobility. The field of public health is not immune to this trend, particularly when it comes to global health and its governance mechanisms. Viruses, diseases, germs and other health “risks” are presented in this perspective as global and hypermobile threats that ignore territorial demarcations, borders and politics, potentially spreading instantly around the world. Our common world is one of endless threats in circulation and for which global governance is presented as an obligatory passage point in terms of responses and interventions. Such “viral geography” however raises many questions, among which that of the effectiveness of global governance appears the most pressing. This is especially true when it comes to the prioritization process in which other health risks are not taken into considerat...