Event

When, how, and why does a state change its approach to epidemics? In this talk, Professor Long will draw on her upcoming book to traces the collapse and rebuilding of public health systems in China between 1978 and 2018. Contesting conventional domestic analysis, she reveals how interactions between foreign organizations, government agencies, and social movements can simultaneously bolster public health institutions and reinforce authoritarian power. This dynamic was pivotal to China's subsequent handling of COVID-19 and instrumental in advancing the rights of specific groups like urban gay men.