1. Chapter 15: The normalisation of AIDS policies in Europe.
- Author
-
Steffen, Monika, Moatti, Jean-Paul, Souteyrand, Yves, Prieur, Annick, Sandfort, Theo, and Aggleton, Peter
- Subjects
HEALTH policy ,AIDS ,PUBLIC health ,PUBLIC administration ,POLICY sciences ,HUMAN services - Abstract
This chapter examines the factors shaping the development of AIDS policies in several European countries, including France, Great Britain, Italy and Germany. Normalisation describes the integration of the AIDS issue into existing agendas, priorities and networks of public policies, in particular health and welfare policies. The process endows the newly introduced policies with long-term sustainability. Normalisation is a dynamic process, combining the path dependency of health policy and AIDS-rooted innovations. It has proved to be more complex and laden with conflicts in countries that were poorly equipped for public health management and, therefore, opposed to the recognition and the practical treatment of the new public health risks. Far-reaching consequences can be expected, particularly in these countries, because the epidemic contributes to the consolidation of the poorly established parts of the public health sector. This calls into question elements of the political culture, like the boundary between what can be considered public and private rights or responsibilities. Collective norms have had to undergo changes, which explains the existence of political controversy in many countries.
- Published
- 2000