Should HIV/AIDS Be Securitized? The Ethical Dilemmas of Linking HIV/AIDS and Security

Abstract

Should the global AIDS pandemic be framed as an international security issue? Drawing on securitization theory, this article argues that there is a complex normative dilemma at the heart of recent attempts to formulate the global response to HIV/AIDS in the language of international security. Although “securitizing” the AIDS pandemic could bolster international AIDS initiatives by raising awareness and resources, the language of security simultaneously pushes responses to the disease away from civil society toward military and intelligence organizations with the power to override the civil liberties of persons living with HIV/AIDS. The security framework, moreover, brings into play a “threat‐defense” logic that could undermine international efforts to address the pandemic because it makes such efforts a function of narrow national interest rather than of altruism, because it allows states to prioritize AIDS funding for their elites and armed forces who play a crucial role in maintaining security, and because portraying the illness as an overwhelming “threat” works against ongoing efforts to normalize social perceptions regarding HIV/AIDS. These overlooked dangers give rise to a profound ethical dilemma as to whether or not the global AIDS pandemic should be portrayed as a security issue. The article concludes that securitization theory cannot resolve this complex dilemma, but that raising awareness of its presence does allow policy makers, activists, and scholars to begin drawing the links between HIV/AIDS and security in ways that at least minimize some of these dangers.

HIV/AIDS in Oyo State, Nigeria: analysis of spatial pattern of prevalence and policy implication for government

“…There is a difference between seeing people living with HIV/AIDS as security threat and treating HIV/AIDS as a security risk (Elbe, 2006). And as de Waal (2010, 116) concludes, 'the relationship between HIV/AIDS and conflict can be better understood observing local levels, specific configurations of forces, moment and dimensions of violence' in conflict infected community.…”

International Organization and Health/Disease

“…While Price- Smith (2001; and others (Rodier et al 2007) have argued that infectious diseases, in particular, constitute part of a post-Cold War and post-9/11 "new security agenda," Fidler (2003) explores the different meanings of security and the normative basis for linking the health and security policy agendas. This approach is also taken by Elbe (2006), Feldbaum et al (2006), and others (McInnes and Lee 2005;Davies 2008;Aldis 2008) who explore the political reasons for the securitization of health issues, such as HIV/AIDS (Ostergard 2007), and the implications for ethics, policy, and practice.…”

"The war on crime": The securitization of narco-trafficking in Mexico during the Calderon administration.

“…Also, as Elbe (2006) and the Paris school point out (Bigo, 2000(Bigo, , 2002Buzan & Hansen, 2009), security tends to be pushed to the hands of the security professionals. Neverthless, the procedures of security professionals tend to be a lot more secretive than the workings of other government institutions.…”

“…The first relates to Elbe's (2006) concern about pushing responses away from a particular sector to other, which in this case may be the military and the police. These operate more hermetically than civilian institutions, which lead to a second issue: the power to override human rights and civil liberties (Elbe, 2006, p. 120).…”

“…Trying to cover up civilian deaths by saying that the victims were criminals was a clear attempt to abuse the image of the "enemy" to limit government accountability. The second consequence relates to Elbe's (2006) concern about pushing responses away from a particular sector to other, which in this case may be the military and the police. These agencies operate more hermetically than civilian institutions.…”