The Response to HIV/AIDS and the Construction of National Legitimacy: Lessons from Uganda

Uganda faces continual challenges as a low-income nation reliant on international donors and non-state actors. It was also one of the first countries to face a population-wide HIV epidemic, a disease that can strain state capacity to its limits. One would expect that such a combination would weaken the governance structures in a developing country; yet, if anything, the Ugandan state has emerged from its HIV crisis with its legitimacy bolstered. This article reviews the Ugandan response to HIV/AIDS, analysing the ways in which the epidemic has provided a new arena for the Ugandan state to engage with international actors.