Presidential Encores: International Entrepreneurship in Health Policy

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ex-Presidents Carter and Clinton are forging new paths for post-presidential activities. With their respective action-oriented public policy institutions, the Carter Center and the Clinton Foundation, they have introduced vehicles through which they can establish independent and influential roles as former presidents. Their activities in the global health arena, specifically Guinea Worm Disease and HIV/AIDS, demonstrate that their influence is a function of their ability to act as international policy entrepreneurs. This thesis argues that the influence of ex-Presidents Carter and Clinton has been strengthened by their respective foundations and that they function as unique policy entrepreneurs, namely, ex-president entrepreneurs. They are successful in advocating for policy change through using the attributes of ex-president entrepreneurs: skills, the ability to mobilise resources and the ability to operate in a social arena. The thesis has forged a new path by considering theory originally developed to examine domestic policies in an international context. Presidential Encores: