Mental Health in World Politics: An Interdisciplinary Analysis on Mental Health & Inequalities Beyond Borders

Clinical depression is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide, yet it remains largely peripheral in mainstream International Relations (IR) scholarship. Traditionally framed as an individual or domestic public health concern, depression is insufficiently examined through the lenses of global politics, conflict, inequality, and international governance. This paper reconceptualizes clinical depression as a global human security issue shaped by international structures, political violence, forced displacement, economic crises, and governance failures. Drawing upon human security theory, structural violence, and global health governance frameworks, the study highlights how international processes and power asymmetries contribute to the prevalence and persistence of depression across societies. Using qualitative analysis and interdisciplinary insights from clinical psychology, the paper examines the political determinants of depression through selected international case studies, including conflict and post-conflict settings, refugee populations, global economic crises, and pandemic responses. It further analyses the role of international institutions such as the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and humanitarian actors in addressing mental health, arguing that global responses remain fragmented and underfunded relative to the scale of the problem. By integrating clinical understandings of depression with IR theory, this study contributes to the expanding literature on non traditional security and global health. It argues that addressing clinical depression requires not only medical interventions but also political solutions embedded in peacebuilding, development policy, and international cooperation. The paper concludes by proposing policy recommendations to mainstream mental health within global governance and international security frameworks.