Virus Alert: Security, Governmentality, and the AIDS Pandemic

225 Pages·2009·0.79 MB·English

by  Stefan Elbe

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STEFAN ELBE is reader (associate pro- “THEORETICALLY SOPHISTICATED, cogent, and teeming with pro- BOUND UP with the human cost of HIV/
fessor) in the Department of International found insight, Virus Alert is an outstanding contribution to the field of security AIDS is the critical issue of its impact on
Relations at the University of Sussex, where and HIV/AIDS studies.” national and international security, yet at-
he teaches security studies. Previously, he tempts to assess the pandemic’s complex
—Alex de Waal, fellow, Global Equity Initiative, Harvard University
held positions at the London School of Eco- risk fail to recognize the political dangers
SECURITY, GOVERNMENTALITY,
nomics, the International Institute for Strate- of construing the disease as a security
“STEFAN ELBE HAS WRITTEN a careful and measured study of the
gic Studies, the University of Essex, and the AND THE AIDS PANDEMIC threat. The securitization of HIV/AIDS not
relationship between security, governance, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. It
University of Warwick. only affects the discussion of the disease in
will be an important text for students of the epidemic and, more broadly, for international policy debates, but also trans-
those interested in theoretical developments in international relations and forms the very nature and function of secu-
global governance.” rity within global politics.
—Dennis Altman, professor of politics and director, Institute for Human Security, La
IN HIS ANALYSIS of the security impli-
Trobe University
cations of HIV/AIDS, Stefan Elbe addresses
three concerns: the empirical evidence that
“IN VIRUS ALERT, Stefan Elbe sheds brilliant light on the complex gov-
justifies framing HIV/AIDS as a security
ernment of biopolitical life in the twenty-first century through the securitization
issue, the meaning of the term “security”
of disease and the regulation of bodies. His case study of governmentality
when used in relation to the disease, and
and HIV/AIDS is sure to become a canonical volume for students and schol- AS the political consequences of responding
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ars, not only of Michel Foucault and discourse theory but also of international C to the AIDS pandemic in the language of
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relations and world politics.” security. His book exposes the dangers that
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—Ronnie D. Lipschutz, professor of politics, University of California, Santa Cruz HIT accompany efforts to manage the global
Y spread of HIV/AIDS through the policy
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,
G frameworks of national security, human
“STEFAN ELBE’S DISSECTION of how the HIV/AIDS pandemic has A
O security, and risk management. Beyond
I
become a security issue is a compelling demonstration of the political force DV
developing strategies for mitigating these
E
of theoretical critique informed by empirical rigor. Showing how securitiza- SR dangers, Elbe’s research reveals that, in

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tion itself can be dangerous, Elbe has given us a book that will profoundly construing the AIDS pandemic as a threat,
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disturb established ways of engaging public health, international relations, NE policymakers and international institutions
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and global security.” D also implicitly seek to integrate current
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EA security practices within a particular ratio-
—David Campbell, professor of cultural and political geography, Durham University
ML
I nalization of political rule. Elbe identifies
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CY this transformation as the “governmental-
,
ization” of security and, by drawing on the
COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS / NEW YORK
recently translated work of Michel Foucault,
C
www.cup.columbia.edu O develops a framework for analyzing its key
LU S T E F A N E L B E
M elements and consequences.
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Jacket image: AP Images / Ron Edmonds
Jacket design: Milenda Nan Ok Lee
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
VIRUS ALERT
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Virus Alert
Security, Governmentality,
and the AIDS Pandemic
STEFAN ELBE
Columbia University Press New York
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Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2009 Columbia University Press
All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Elbe, Stefan, 1975–
Virus alert : security, governmentality, and the AIDS pandemic / Stefan Elbe.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-231-14868-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-231-52005-8 (e-book)
1. Security, International. 2. National security.
3. AIDS (Disease)—Political aspects. I. Title.
JZ6005.E43 2009
355'.033—dc22
2009000323

Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-
free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
References to Internet Web sites (URLs) were accurate at the time of writing.
Neither the author nor Columbia University Press is responsible for URLs
that may have expired or changed since the manuscript was prepared.
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To Aris
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In fact we have a triangle: sovereignty, discipline and governmental
management, which has population as its main target and apparatuses
of security as its essential mechanism.
—MICHEL FOUCAULT
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CONTENTS
A cknowledgments xi
1 / Viruses, Health, and International Security 1
2 / A Noble Lie? Examining the Evidence on AIDS and Security 27
3 / Security in the Era of Governmentality:
AIDS and the Rise of Health Security 59
4 / National Security: Sovereignty, Medicine,
and the Securitization of AIDS 86
5 / Human Security: Discipline, Healthy Bodies,
and the Global Curing Machine 108
6 / Risk and Security: Government, Military Risk Groups,
and Population Triage 131
7 / The Power of AIDS: Responding to the
Governmentalization of Security 157
R eferences 177
Index 201
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