Beyond Epidemiology: The Global Politics of Infectious Diseases

Abstract

This paper demonstrates the need to make sense of IR theories in ways that ensure the practical relevance of international relations as an academic discipline. It does so by analyzing the usefulness of IR theories in understanding the politics of public health policy-making. By using the global spread of HIV/AIDS as a case study, this paper explains the differences, similarities and core assumptions that underpin different IR theories in relation to the way that each theory responds to a microbial threat like HIV/AIDS. This paper argues that international relations and global health are inextricably intertwined, and that scholars of international relations must take a critical look at the relationship between this interdependency of these fields at local, national and international levels. Drawing largely on international relations (IR) theories and global health literature on infectious disease, this paper highlights the analytical link between international relations theories and global public health issues.