In the backdrop of global vaccine inequity witnessed during the COVID-19
pandemic and other past health crises, this thesis examines the legal and
regulatory influence of the European Union (EU) and India — as prominent actors
in vaccine production and regulation — on pandemic vaccines access in
least-developed countries (LDCs).
To study this legal and regulatory influence, this thesis develop an
innovative normative framework of ‘state capabilities’ – conceptualised as the
genuine and effective opportunity available to a state, as shaped by a
combination of internal and external factors, to achieve a desired objective.
This framework is developed by combining insights from Third World Approaches
to International Law (TWAIL) and the human capabilities approach, with the
central premise being that prioritising the expansion of state capabilities
redirects attention from ad hoc solutions to structural transformation
in vaccine supply chains. This thesis identifies three capabilities that are
particularly relevant to ensure vaccine supply: innovation capabilities to
develop vaccines; regulatory capabilities
to oversee the innovation, production, and quality of vaccines; and manufacturing capabilities
for large-scale production.
Through
case studies in three selected LDCs — Bangladesh, Senegal, and Uganda — the
subsequent inquiry then examines the EU and India’s influence on the
above-mentioned state capabilities. It analyses both formal mechanisms
under international law and informal processes of policy diffusion from
domestic and regional practice. In doing so, the thesis highlights how the EU
and India both, in different ways and to varying extents, influence LDCs’
capabilities to access pandemic vaccines.
