Ontological Securitization of Health in Africa: The HIV/AIDS, Ebola and COVID-19 Pandemics and the Foreign Virus

Christian Kaunert () and Edwin Ezeokafor
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Christian Kaunert: School of Law and Government, Dublin City University, Dublin 9, Ireland
Edwin Ezeokafor: International Centre for Policing and Security, University of South Wales, Pontypridd CF37 4BD, UK

Social Sciences, 2022, vol. 11, issue 8, 1-16

Abstract: Africa’s security issues have suffered serious attention deficits. This article analyses why a globally accepted health security norm, such as fighting a communicable disease during a pandemic such as the COVID-19 pandemic, was, in Africa, perceived as a security threat emanating from external—foreign—actors importing a ‘foreign virus’ into Africa. This fear-based perception can be explained by West Africa’s ontological security fears, ultimately based on its colonial past and a relationship of exploitation by the West. While this article analyses the case of COVID-19, it also explains the same process with previous epidemics, such as HIV/AIDS and EDV/Ebola.

Keywords: securitisation; ontological security; COVID-19; West Africa; Ebola; HIV/AIDS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A B N P Y80 Z00 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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