Escaping the “realist trap”: Taiwan’s participation in global health governance under the one-China principle

Drawing on the realist perspective on global governance, this paper aims to demonstrate that international institutions of global health governance are just another arena of world politics that is vulnerable to manipulation by powerful states. The utility of realism in understanding global health governance will be examined by the COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan. The case study shows how the “China factor” has confined the interactions between WHO and Taiwan in times of health emergencies. Given the inclusion or exclusion strategies exerted on Taiwan under the One China principle, the WHO has become an instrument for China to advance its national interests, namely sovereignty and territorial integrity. While the constraints seem formidable, this paper argues that Taiwan could escape the “realist trap” due to its de facto status, participating in global health governance in a meaningful way, now and the future.