The political economy of HIV/AIDS in Sierra Leone

Abstract

This thesis analyses the HIV/AIDS epidemic from an international relations (IR) perspective through the case of the West African state of Sierra Leone.  While much research has focused on Southern, Central and East Africa, HIV/AIDS in West Africa, with very few exceptions, has been relatively understudied.  Although the social sciences have made significant contributions to the study of HIV/AIDS, very little work has been done from the specific perspective of IR. 

This study employs both the global political economy (GPE) and constructivist approaches as the frameworks for analysis.  The GPE approach is used in order to understand the structural factors affecting the spread of HIV/AIDS and also influencing policy responses.  The constructivist approach is used in order to provide insights into how and why the epidemic and policy responses come to be articulated in a particular way, in whose interests, and why some discourses of HIV/AIDS are more dominant than others.  The study begins by examining the global politics of HIV/AIDS and then moves on the specific case of Sierra Leone.  The analysis is extended to the global level in order to provide an understanding of the relationship between institutions, structures and practices of the global political economy and the spread of HIV/AIDS across national borders, as well as the efforts to address the epidemic as a global phenomenon.

The thesis argues that the HIV/AIDS epidemic can be more fully understood by combining the GPE and constructivist perspectives.  The main objectives and contribution of this thesis are: to provide further understanding of HIV/AIDS in terms of the Structural conditions fanning the epidemic and its implications particularly for developing countries such as Sierra Leone; to demonstrate how the IR discipline enhances understanding of the HIV/AIDS epidemic; and to complement ongoing efforts aimed at integrating health issues into the study of IR and thus widening its intellectual boundaries and disciplinary agenda.

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