Dr Simon Rushton

Department of Politics and International Relations

Senior Lecturer

simon.rushton@sheffield.ac.uk
+44 114 222 1710

1.31, Elmfield Building

Full contact details

Dr Simon Rushton
Department of Politics and International Relations
1.31
Elmfield Building
Northumberland Road
Sheffield
S10 2TU

Profile

Simon joined the Department of Politics in January 2013. He completed an LLB in Law and Politics followed by an MA in International Law and Politics at the University of Hull. He moved to the Department of International Politics at Aberystwyth University in 2000 to undertake a PhD and subsequently held posts at Aberystwyth as Lecturer and Research Fellow.

Simon is an Associate Fellow of the Centre on Global Health Security at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, and a Senior Fellow of the Center for Global Health Security and Diplomacy in Ottawa. He sits on the Editorial Boards of the journals Medicine, Conflict and Survival and Global Health Governance.

Research interests

Simon’s research interests focus on the global politics of health and on participatory research methods. His work has looked in particular at international responses to HIV/AIDS and other diseases; the links between health and national security; the changing architecture of global health governance; and issues surrounding health care delivery in conflict and other crisis situations. He has a growing interest in participatory research methodologies, including Participatory Video, which he is currently using on projects in Nepal and Colombia.

Externally funded research projects

Awarding Body: ESRC-DFID Poverty Alleviation Follow on Funding
Title of Research: 'Earthquake resilience in Nepal: Impact enhancement through inter-community learning and a TV documentary'
Principal Investigator: Simon Rushton
Co-Investigators: Julie Balen (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Bhimsen Devkota (Bikas Shrot Kendra, Nepal), Jonathan Joseph (Politics and International Studies, University of Bristol), Jiban Karki (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Andrew Lee (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Martina McGuinness (Management School, University of Sheffield), Sarita Panday (Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield), Sujana Sapkota (PHASE Nepal, Nepal).
Duration: 12 months (2020-2021)
Total Award: £99,890

Awarding Body: NIHR Global Health Policy and Systems Research (HPSR) Programme
Title of Research: ‘Living in the city: Building collaborations to strengthen health systems to respond to the needs of newly urbanised populations in Africa and Asia.'
Principal Investigators: Simon Rushton and Manish Baidya (PHASE Nepal, Nepal)
Co-Investigators: Genevieve Aryeetey (University of Ghana), Helen Elsey (University of York), Rumana Huque (ARK Foundation, Bangladesh), Jiban Karki (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Andrew Lee (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Sarita Panday (Politics and International Relations, University of Sheffield),
Duration: 9 months (2020)
Total Award: £99,650

Awarding Body: DFID/ESRC/MRC/Wellcome Health Systems Research Initiative
Title of Research: ‘The impact of federalisation on Nepal's health system: a longitudinal analysis’.
Principal Investigators: Simon Rushton and Julie Balen (ScHARR, University of Sheffield).
Co-Investigators: Shiva Adhikari (INEHD, Nepal), Jiban Karki (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Andrew Lee (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Sujan Marahatta (Tribhuvan University, Nepal), Sarita Panday (Politics, University of Sheffield), Padam Simkhada (University of Huddersfield), Madhusudan Subedi (Tribhuvan University, Nepal), Edwin van Teijlingen (Bournemouth University).
Duration: 36 months (2020-2023)
Total Award: £984,175

Awarding Body: UKRI GCRF NGO Secondary Data Analysis Scheme
Title of Research: ‘Determinants of health in rural Nepal: Utilising PHASE Nepal data to investigate social inequalities in health and healthcare amongst under-5s’
Principal Investigator: Simon Rushton
Co-Investigators: Manish Baidya (PHASE Nepal), Tim Chater (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Dan Green (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Jiban Karki (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Andrew Lee (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Gerda Pohl (PHASE Nepal).
Duration: 16 months (2019-2021)
Total Award: £171,520

Awarding Body: Newton RCUK-Colciencias Research Partnership
Title of Research: Improbable Dialogues: Participatory Research as a Strategy for Reconciliation
Principal Investigators: Simon Rushton and Jefferson Jaramillo (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia)
Co-Investigators: Matthew Bishop (Politics, UoS), Jackie Harrison (Journalism, UoS), Jaime Hernandez-Garcia (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia), Juan Miguel Kanai (Geography, UoS), Melanie Lombard (Urban Studies, UoS); Stefanie Pukallus (Journalism, UoS), Jose Manuel Salamanca (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia), Fernando Sarmiento (CINEP, Colombia), Helen Turton (Politics, UoS), Juan Pablo Vera (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia), Maria Zapata (Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia).
Duration: 24 months (2018-2020)
Total Award: £502,763 (£392,763 UK; £110,000 Colombia).

Awarding Body: ESRC-DFID Development Frontiers Research Scheme.
Title of Research: Resilience Policymaking in Nepal: giving voice to communities
Principal Investigator: Simon Rushton
Co-Investigators: Julie Balen (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Bhimsen Devkota (Bikas Shrot Kendra, Nepal), Jonathan Joseph (Politics, University of Sheffield), Jiban Karki (Politics, University of Sheffield), Andrew Lee (ScHARR, University of Sheffield), Martina McGuinness (Management School, University of Sheffield), Sarita Panday (Politics, University of Sheffield)
Duration: 12 months (2017-2018)
Total Award: £297,906

Awarding Body: Wellcome Trust
Title of Research: Healthcare Anatomy of Conflict
Principal Investigator: Louis Lilywhite (Chatham House)
Collaborators: Karl Blanchet (LSHTM); Stuart Gordon (LSE); Simon Rushton.
Duration: 12 months (2015-2016)
Total Award: £50,000

Publications

Books

Rushton S (2019) Security and Public Health. Cambridge: Polity.
Davies SE, Kamradt-Scott A & Rushton S (2015) Disease Diplomacy: International Norms and Global Health Security. Baltimore, MA: Johns Hopkins University Press.
McInnes C, Kamradt-Scott A, Lee K, Roemer-Mahler A, Rushton S & Williams OD (2014) The Transformation of Global Health Governance: Competing Ideas, Interests and Institutions. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Edited books

Roemer-Mahler A & Rushton S (Ed.) (2017) The International Politics of Ebola. Routledge.
Rushton S & Youde J (Ed.) (2014) Routledge Handbook of Global Health Security. Routledge.
Rushton S & Williams OD (Ed.) (2011) Partnerships and Foundations in Global Health Governance. Palgrave Macmillan.

Journal articles

Wenham C, Kavanagh M, Phelan A, Rushton S, Voss M, Halabi S, Eccleston-Turner M & Pillinger M (2021) Problems with traffic light approaches to public health emergencies of international concern. The Lancet.
Karki J, Rushton S, Bhattarai S & de Witte L (2021) Access to assistive technology for persons with disabilities: a critical review from Nepal, India and Bangladesh. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology.
Panday S, Rushton S, Karki J, Balen J & Barnes A (2021) The role of social capital in disaster resilience in remote communities after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 102112-102112. View this article in WRRO
Adhikary P, Balen J, Gautam S, Ghimire S, Karki JK, Lee A, Marahatta SB, Panday S, Pohl G, Rushton S , Sapkota S et al (2020) COVID-19 pandemic in Nepal: Emerging evidence on the effectiveness of action by, and cooperation between, different levels of government in a federal system. Journal of Karnali Academy of Health Sciences, 3(3), 1-11.
Rushton S & Devkota B (2020) Choosing not to weaponize healthcare: politics and health service delivery during Nepal’s civil war, 1996-2006. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 36(3), 212-231. View this article in WRRO
Ferhani A & Rushton S (2020) The International Health Regulations, COVID-19, and bordering practices: Who gets in, what gets out, and who gets rescued?. Contemporary Security Policy, 41(3), 458-477. View this article in WRRO
Rushton S (2018) Promoting pro-health policies across regimes: Global AIDS institutions and the harm reduction debate. Global Governance, 24(2), 267-286. View this article in WRRO
Crane O, Balen J, Devkota B, Ghimire S & Rushton S (2017) Use of information and communication technologies in the formal and informal health system responses to the 2015 Nepal earthquakes. Health Policy and Planning, 32(suppl_3), iii48-iii58. View this article in WRRO
Howell A, Mills C & Rushton S (2017) The (Mis)appropriation of HIV/AIDS advocacy strategies in Global Mental Health: towards a more nuanced approach. Globalization and Health, 13(1). View this article in WRRO
Davies SE & Rushton S (2016) Public health emergencies: a new peacekeeping mission? Insights from UNMIL’s role in the Liberia Ebola outbreak. Third World Quarterly, 37(3), 419-435. View this article in WRRO
Heymann DL, Chen L, Takemi K, Fidler DP, Tappero JW, Thomas MJ, Kenyon TA, Frieden TR, Yach D, Nishtar S , Kalache A et al (2015) Global health security: the wider lessons from the west African Ebola virus disease epidemic. The Lancet, 385(9980), 1884-1901. View this article in WRRO
McINNES C & RUSHTON S (2014) Health for health's sake, winning for God's sake: US Global Health Diplomacy and smart power in Iraq and Afghanistan1. Review of International Studies, 40(5), 835-857.
Coates AL, Hill PS, Rushton S & Balen J (2014) The Holy See on sexual and reproductive health rights: conservative in position, dynamic in response. Reproductive Health Matters, 22(44), 114-124. View this article in WRRO
Harman S & Rushton S (2014) Analyzing Leadership in Global Health Governance. Global Health Governance, 1(VII), 1-19.
McInnes C & Rushton S (2013) HIV/AIDS and securitization theory. European Journal of International Relations, 19(1), 115-138.
Rushton S (2012) The global debate over HIV-related travel restrictions: Framing and policy change. Global Public Health, 7(sup2), S159-S175.
McInnes C, Kamradt-Scott A, Lee K, Reubi D, Roemer-Mahler A, Rushton S, Williams OD & Woodling M (2012) Framing global health: The governance challenge. Global Public Health, 7(sup2), S83-S94.
Woodling M, Williams OD & Rushton S (2012) New life in old frames: HIV, development and the ‘AIDS plus MDGs’ approach. Global Public Health, 7(sup2), S144-S158.
McInnes C & Rushton S (2012) Smart Power? Health Interventions for Strategic Effect in Iraq and Afghanistan. International Political Sociology, 6(3), 328-331.
Rushton S & Williams OD (2012) Frames, Paradigms and Power: Global Health Policy-Making under Neoliberalism. Global Society, 26(2), 147-167.
Kamradt-Scott A & Rushton S (2012) The revised International Health Regulations: socialization, compliance and changing norms of global health security. Global Change, Peace & Security, 24(1), 57-70.
Rushton S (2011) Global Health Security: Security for whom? Security from what?. Political Studies, 59(4), 779-796.
Rushton S (2011) Are the ‘Good Times’ Over? Looking to the Future of Global Health Governance. Global Health Governance, 5(1).
Rushton S (2010) Framing AIDS: Securitization, Development-ization, Rights-ization. Global Health Governance, 4(1).
Rushton S (2010) AIDS and international security in the United Nations System. Health Policy and Planning, 25(6), 495-504.
MCINNES C & RUSHTON S (2010) HIV, AIDS and security: where are we now?. International Affairs, 86(1), 225-245.
Rushton S (2008) The UN Secretary-General and Norm Entrepreneurship: Boutros Boutros-Ghali and Democracy Promotion. Global Governance: A Review of Multilateralism and International Organizations, 14(1), 95-110.
Rushton S & McInnes C (2006) The UK, health and peace-building: the mysterious disappearance of Health as a Bridge for Peace. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 22(2), 94-109.
Rushton S (2005) Health and Peacebuilding: Resuscitating the Failed State in Sierra Leone. International Relations, 19(4), 441-456.
Rushton S, Ghimire S & Marahatta SB () Nepal’s Bumpy Transition to Federalism: Implications for the Health System. Journal of Manmohan Memorial Institute of Health Sciences, 5(1), 1-3. View this article in WRRO
Rushton S () Health Rights and Realization Comment on "Rights Language in the Sustainable Development Agenda: Has Right to Health Discourse and Norms Shaped Health Goals?". International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 5(5), 341-344. View this article in WRRO
Rushton S () The politics of researching global health politics Comment on "Knowledge, moral claims and the exercise of power in global health". International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 4(5), 311-314. View this article in WRRO

Chapters

Rushton S (2020) Security and Health In McInnes C, Lee K & Youde J (Ed.), The Oxford Handbook of Global Health Politics (pp. 1-25). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rushton S (2018) The invisible men: HIV, security, and men who have sex with women In O'Manique C & Fourie P (Ed.), Global Health and Security: Critical Feminist Perspectives (pp. 131-147). Abingdon: Routledge.
Rushton S (2018) Securitization In Brown GW, MacLean I & McMillan A (Ed.), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Politics and International Relations Oxford University Press, USA
Rushton S & Kittelsen S (2016) Pandemics and Security In Dunn Cavelty M & Balzacq T (Ed.), Routledge Handbook of Security Studies (2nd end.) (pp. 224-233). Abingdon: Routledge.
Rushton S (2016) Health Security In Caballero-Anthony M (Ed.), An Introduction to Non-Traditional Security Studies: A Transnational Approach (pp. 174-192). London: Sage.
Rushton S & Duten AJ (2016) The Omega Man, Colonialism, and Global Health, Politische Theorie im Film (pp. 195-211). Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
Rushton S & Kamradt-Scott A (2016) The revised international health regulations and outbreak response In Davies SE & Youde JR (Ed.), The Politics of Surveillance and Response to Disease Outbreaks: The New Frontier for States and Non-state Actors (pp. 23-40).
Rushton S (2015) Who will lead? In Frenk J & Hoffman S (Ed.), "To Save Humanity" What Matters Most for a Healthy Future (pp. 301-304). Oxford University Press, USA
Rushton S (2014) Arguments for Securitizing Global Health Priorities In Brown GW, Yamey G & Wamala S (Ed.), The Handbook of Global Health Policy Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.
McInnes C, Kamradt-Scott A, Lee K, Roemer-Mahler A, Rushton S & Williams OD (2014) Tobacco Control, The Transformation of Global Health Governance (pp. 59-77). Palgrave Macmillan UK
McInnes C, Kamradt-Scott A, Lee K, Roemer-Mahler A, Rushton S & Williams OD (2014) Access to Medicines and the International Patent Rights Regime, The Transformation of Global Health Governance (pp. 78-94). Palgrave Macmillan UK
McInnes C & Rushton S (2011) Health interventions for Political Ends: Medical Initiatives in Conflict and Peacebuilding In Novotny TE & Kickbusch I (Ed.), 21st Century Global Health Diplomacy World Scientific Publishing Company
Williams OD & Rushton S (2011) The end of one era and the start of another: Partnerships, foundations and the shifting political economy of global health In Rushton S & Williams OD (Ed.), Partnerships and Foundations in Global Health Governance Palgrave Macmillan
Williams OD & Rushton S (2011) Private Actors in Global Health Governance In Williams OD & Rushton S (Ed.), Partnerships and Foundations in Global Health Governance Palgrave Macmillan
Williams OD & Rushton S (2011) Coda In Williams OD & Rushton S (Ed.), Partnerships and Foundations in Global Health Governance (pp. 253-267). Palgrave Macmillan
Rushton S (2009) Global Governance Capacities in Health: WHO and Infectious Disease In Kay A & Williams O (Ed.), Global Health Governance Palgrave Macmillan
Rushton S (2008) A History of Peace through Health In Arya N & Barbara JS (Ed.), Peace Through Health Kumarian Press

Book reviews

Rushton S (2013) South African AIDS activism and global health politics.. INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS, 89(6), 1498-1499.
Rushton S (2008) Groove Armada: Rafa Benítez, Anfield and the New Spanish Fury. Soccer and Society, 1(9), 151-153.
Rushton S (2008) The Best Intentions: Kofi Annan and the UN in the Era of American Power. Intelligence and National Security, 4(23), 586-588.

Website content

Davies SE & Rushton S (2015) Healing or Harming? United Nations Peacekeeping and Health.
Rushton S (2011) AIDS: Five Neglected Questions for Global Health Strategies.
Rushton S '‘The Public’, Participation, and the Ethics of Engaging with Communities' in Kate Dommett and Nikki Soo (eds.), Who and What are the Public?.
Elbe S & Rushton S Antimicrobial Resistance and International Relations: Research Brief.

Other

Rushton S & Ferhani A (2021) The International Health Regulations, COVID-19 and National Borders: Pursuing Health Security in a Globalized World. Behind the Headlines (Canadian International Council), 69(3), 1-6. View this article in WRRO
Rushton S & Kett M (2019) Liz Willis. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 35(4), 294-294.
Kett M & Rushton S (2017) Moving on. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 33(3), 167-167.
Kett M & Rushton S (2017) Fostering narratives of peace and security?. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 33(1), 1-2.
Rushton S & Kett M (2016) The Trump Presidency – what future for global health and armed conflict?. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 32(4), 253-254.
Roemer-Mahler A & Rushton S (2016) Introduction: Ebola and International Relations. Third World Quarterly, 37(3), 373-379.
Rushton S & Kett M (2015) Climate change and health: rising to the challenge?. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 31(3-4), 141-143.
Arya N, Birch M, Boulton F, Hodgson S, Holdstock M, Ingram A, Karamoskos P, Kett M, McCoy D, Pountney M , Rushton S et al (2015) The Lancet, Gaza and academic publishing: defending political engagement. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 31(2), 81-87.
Kett M & Rushton S (2015) The age of unconventional conflict?. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 31(1), 1-3.
Rushton S & Kett M (2014) Polio, conflict and distrust: a global public health emergency. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 30(3), 143-145.
Rushton S & Kett M (2014) The Holdstock-Piachaud Prize 2013. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 30(3), 165-165.
Kett M & Rushton S (2014) Introduction. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 30(2), 73-74.
Rushton S & Kett M (2014) Eyes on Africa. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 30(1), 1-3.
Kett M & Rushton S (2013) Inscribing the history of conflict – from Germany to Syria; Japan to Afghanistan. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 29(4), 267-269.
Kett M & Rushton S (2013) What have we learnt about war?. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 29(2), 89-92.
Rushton S & Kett M (2013) Killing machines. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 29(3), 165-168.
Rushton S & Kett M (2012) Looking forward and looking back. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 28(4), 275-277.
Kett M & Rushton S (2012) Depressingly familiar. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 28(3), 191-194.
Ingram A, Rushton S & Kett M (2012) Terrorism, conflict and the after effects of war. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 28(2), 107-109.
Ingram A, Rushton S & Kett M (2012) The Holdstock-Piachaud Prize 2011. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 28(2), 111-112.
Rushton S, Ingram A & Kett M (2011) Confronting violence, protecting health. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 27(4), 187-190.
Kett M, Rushton S & Ingram A (2011) Putting health first. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 27(3), 139-140.
Ingram A, Kett M & Rushton S (2011) Spies, vaccines and violence: Fake health campaigns and the neutrality of health. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 27(2), 73-76.
Rushton S, Ingram A & Kett M (2011) Politicizing aid: Healthcare provision and strategic objectives. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 27(1), 1-4.
Kett M, Ingram A & Rushton S (2010) Editorial. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 26(4), 247-251.
Kett M & Rushton S (2010) Health, human rights and global security: Exploring connections. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 26(3), 185-189.
Kett M, Rushton S & Ingram A (2010) Health, peace and conflict: roles for health professionals. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 26(2), v-vii.
Kett M, Rushton S & Ingram A (2010) Rethinking the space for health and conflict?. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 26(1), 1-3.
Rushton S, Kett M & Ingram A (2009) Medicine, Conflict and Survival: change and continuity. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 25(3), 187-190.
Kett M & Rushton S () The politics of war. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 1-3.

Research group

I am always happy to hear from students considering a PhD in any area of global health politics, or in global governance, international institutions or security studies more broadly.

Current PhD students:

Mohamed Ali, ‘Developing strategies for effective health workforce management in conflict-affected Somalia’.
Minju Jung, ‘The Determinants of Policy Decisions in GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance’.
Jean-Claude Kayumba, ‘UN Peacekeeping missions: the contested role of UN Media in post-conflict reconstruction contexts. A case study of Democratic Republic of Congo’.
Adam Ferhani, ‘Everyday health security practices: disease surveillance and border screening’.
Chishimba Mulambia, ‘Health sector decentralization in Zambia’.
Charlotte Godziewski, ‘Eating well in the EU: Critically examining the soft governance of diet-related NCD prevention’.
Maëlle de Seze, ‘The making of health policies and the transnational circulation of biomedical knowledge: The fight against Hepatitis B Virus in Senegal’.

Completed PhD students:

Remi Adekoya, ‘Ethnic identity and ethnic mobilization in Nigerian politics - a critical analysis of the roles played by Nigeria’s founding fathers: Obafemi Awolowo, Nnamdi Azikiwe and Ahmadu Bello’.
Jonathan Webb, ‘The EU and Democratisation: Creating Democratic Culture’.
Herman Salton, ‘Dangerous Diplomacy: Anatomy of the UN Failure in Rwanda’.
Sonja Kittelsen,‘The EU and the Securitization of pandemic influenza’.

Teaching activities

At Undergraduate level, I offer the Level Three module POL3139 Pandemics and Panics: Health, Security and Global Politics and contribute to teaching on the Level 2 module POL230 Contemporary Security Challenges.

At Master’s level, I offer the module POL6604 Global Health and Global Politics.

I view students taking my modules as emerging scholars with something to contribute to our knowledge and understanding, not as passive recipients of truths handed down from on high. The balance I try to strike in my teaching is between conveying knowledge and at the same time helping students to develop the conceptual and critical tools that allow them to challenge conventional wisdoms and re-think common assumptions.

I always enjoy working with students from different backgrounds and with varied life experiences who can engage critically with big political issues, look at things in different ways and ask new questions. I invariably learn something new from each group of students that I teach.

In 2017, I received a Teaching Excellence in Social Sciences award for Outstanding Practice in Learning and Teaching.

I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.