Towards the glocalisation of complementary and alternative medicine: homeopathy, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine practice and regulation in Brazil and Portugal

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has been presented in the sociological literature as a global phenomenon. Yet CAM has simultaneously been shaped by different ‘civic epistemologies’, or national cultures, and re-embedded into local contexts. This ‘glocalism’ of CAM, in turn, is a result of intercultural exchanges over time. This chapter compares CAM practice and regulation in two countries with a long-standing relationship—Brazil and Portugal. Homeopathy, acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine have been chosen as case studies. We show how Brazil and Portugal, despite their participation in CAM’s global culture, have presented differing national projects on the subject, as well as how these projects have resulted from intercultural hybridism over time. This chapter highlights the glocalism and interculturalism of CAM, a perspective largely absent from its sociological analysis to date