Readings

Aids and Violent Conflict: The Indirect Effects of Disease on National Security by Susan Peterson and Stephen M. Shellman, Aids and International Security (2006)

HIV and National Security: Where Are the Links? by Laurie Garrett, Council on Foreign Relations (July 2005)

"Missed Opportunities: Governance of Global Infectious Diseases" by Laurie Garrett and Scott Rosenstein. Harvard International Review, Spring 2005.
The spread of infectious disease is often the result of manmade contamination failures rather than of any natural process. Following the link made by President Clinton between security and infectious disease, the report underscores the widespread failure of countries and organizations to efficiently obtain and utilize funds for the elimination of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and other illnesses. In some cases, the authors assert, a relative excess of money has become a problem in coping with the HIV/AIDS threat. Without stabilizing the spread of infectious disease, developed nations will undermine their efforts to improve global security.

Downward Spiral: HIV/AIDS, State Capacity, and Political Conflict in Zimbabwe by Andrew Price-Smith and John Daly, US Institute of Peace (July 2004)
Corruption and misgovernment are wreaking havoc in Zimbabwe, adding to the astounding problem of 34% HIV infection in the country's adult population. The authors create recommendations on how the international community and the US can help Zimbabwe deal with its HIV/AIDS problem before it gets worse than it already is.

"U.S. Foreign Policy Must Include the Eradication of Dangerous Diseases" by Kenneth Shine and Ross Anthony. Modern Healthcare (July 14, 2003)
The war fought by doctors and other health professionals against killer diseases and poor health now should become a central focus of our foreign policy. This war without guns will save lives and strengthen our ties to other nations, serving both humanitarian concerns and our national interest. These diseases pay no attention to borders or national sovereignty, and air travelers can carry them from one side of the world to the other in a matter of hours. It is in our national self-interest, as well as in the interest of global public health, that we find better methods to improve the global surveillance of infectious diseases.

"A New Vision for Human Security" Lancet Volume 361, Issue 9370, p. 1665. (May 17, 2003)

Epidemic Disease and National Security by Susan Peterson. Security Studies 12 (2), 2002.

Testimony of Kenneth I. Shine, President, Institute of Medicine, The National Academies for a Hearing on Risk Communication: National Security and Public Health (November 29, 2001).
Over the past decade the overall condition of the public health system in America has continued to erode. Many of these weaknesses were graphically displayed during the anthrax episodes. Laboratory capabilities, adequate staff for investigations, the relationship and responsibilities of public health to law enforcement and the effectiveness of communications to the public and to health professionals about the anthrax terrorism were found wanting.

"Why Health is Important to U.S. Foreign Policy" by Jordan S. Kassalow. Council on Foreign Relations and Milbank Memorial Fund, May 2001.
HIV/AIDS and other health problems, especially when they become of epidemic proportions, often contribute to the disintegration of governments. By promoting health and giving aid to countries with underdeveloped health infrastructures, the US can accomplish its foreign policy goals and contribute to global security and prosperity.

Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health by Laurie Garrett. Hyperion (August 15, 2001)
With globalization, humans are more vulnerable to outbreaks from any part of the world; increasingly, the health of each nation depends on the health of all. Yet public health has been pushed down the list of priorities. Across the globe, a series of potential and present public health catastrophes together form a terrifying portrait of real global disaster in the making.

"The Global Infectious Disease Threat and Its Implications for the United States" (NIE 99-17D, January 2000).
Unclassified version of a National Intelligence Estimate on the reemergence of the threat from infectious diseases worldwide and its implications for the United States. It examines the most lethal diseases globally and by region; develops alternative scenarios about their future course; examines national and international capacities to deal with them; and assesses their national and global social, economic, political, and security impact.

"Health and National Security" by George A. O. Alleyne. Presented in the Distinguished Lecturers Series, University of West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica (March 27, 1995)
The attention to health and well-being will be key for ensuring the global security that is essential for the security of modern states. It is a concern that goes beyond that engineered by the ever-present threat of rapid spread of communicable disease from one country to another. The health of the population as a resource is essential for the domestic stability of the nation. History offers us plenty of examples of how ill health can lead to a nation's fall. Inequity in health is only one facet of the inequity in other spheres that threaten national security.

Links

National Security Health Policy Center at The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies
http://www.potomacinstitute.org/academic/nshpc.cfm

RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security
http://www.rand.org/health/healthsecurity