# Personal Takeaways - Politics of problematisation relates to power and norm contestation. - [[Robert Dahl argued that power is the ability to influence outcomes, to prevail in decision-making, to impose one's preferences, and even to dominate]]. - [[Three-stage lifecycle for norm contestation. First, introduce the idea. Second, ideas cross the threshold and socialization period. Third, when the norm settled in and taken-for-granted (internalised)]] - Politics of care - Concern with social justice and [[Human rights]]. - Fragmented care systems for NCDs in LMICs, questioning the inequitable resource distribution and the structural limitations in addressing NCDs sustainably - Politics of culture - "Western" lifestyle and health interventions impacts local cultures, and the politics of NCDs often blame cultural failings rather than addressing systemic inequities. - The global health response in NCDs emphasizes individual responsibility, neglecting structural determinants and social drivers of health. [[How does neoliberalism shape global health policy?]] - Neoliberal ideologies influence NCD policies, prioritizing cost-effectiveness and individual behavior changes over holistic, inclusive strategies. - The paper calls for a shift in global health approaches to better address the socio-political and cultural complexities of NCDs. # Abstract In this paper, we explore the emergence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) as an object of political concern in and for countries of the global South. While epidemiologists and public health practitioners and scholars have long expressed concern with the changing global distribution of the burden of NCDs, it is only in more recent years that the aetiology, politics and consequences of these shifts have become an object of critical social scientific enquiry. These shifts mark the starting point for this special issue on ‘The Politics of NCDs in the Global South’ and act as the basis for new, critical interventions in how we understand NCDs. In this paper, we aim not only to introduce and contextualise the six contributions that form this special issue, but also to identify and explore three themes – ==problematisation, care and culture== – that index the main areas of analytical and empirical concern that have motivated analyses of NCDs in the global South and are central to critical engagement with their political contours.