AIDS and the State

Abstract

The acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) epidemic is now considered not only a health problem, but also a development issue as well as a security threat. While states have responded in varied ways to the AIDS epidemic, most have failed in combating it. What explains the variations in state responses to the AIDS epidemic? This article compares the state responses of Brazil, India and South Africa to AIDS with the help of a few variables: states’ primacy to human security, socio–cultural norms, civil society activism and a rapidly changing strategic environment. This article demonstrates that a greater level of state's primacy to human security threats like HIV/AIDS and civil society activism produce a more successful state response. The article further suggests that social and political conditions do impact upon the state's response to AIDS. Prominent among them are the rapidly changing strategic environment and socio–cultural norms.