Ken Buse and Andrew Harmer review the political dimensions of global public–private health partnerships through the ‘three faces of power’ lens. They attempt to answer the questions: who has power; how is power exercised; and on what basis? Evidence, although scant, suggests that a northern elite wields power through its domination of governing bodies and also through a discourse which inhibits critical analysis of partnership while imbuing partnership with legitimacy and authority.
Kent Buse and Andrew Harmer