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Abstract

This article argues that the global AIDS pandemic is no longer solely a health issue, but also has emerging human, national, and international security dimensions that must be acknowledged by scholars and international policy-makers. In order to substantiate this argument, this article specifically analyzes these three dimensions in greater detail, and outlines the broad policy implications that follow from such an analysis. It is important to recognize these security dimensions of the AIDS pandemic, the article concludes, (i) in order to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the nature and extent of the contemporary pandemic; (ii) in order for the level of the international response to become commensurate with the extent of the global challenge posed by the AIDS pandemic; and (iii) because the security sector, as high-risk group and vector of the virus, can make a responsible contribution to the international efforts to reduce the transmission of HIV/AIDS.Stefan Elbe is Senior Lecturer in the Politics and International Relations Department at Sussex University (Great Britain), where he teaches on Security Questions. He has published 'Strategic Implications of HIV/AIDS' (Oxford University Press, 2003) and 'Europe: a Nietzschean Perspective' (London, Routledge, 2003).