Tactics of resistance and the evolution of identity from subjects to citizens: The AIDS political movement in Southern Africa

Abstract

Over the last decade, thousands of HIV/AIDS associations have sprung up across Africa to deal with high infection rates. This essay compares associations in South Africa, Mozambique, and Swaziland by examining how they work within the public arena, how issues are framed, and what the implications are for citizenship. Overall, I argue that South Africans are most free in their ability to critique government and vocalize opposition; associations have varying levels of "civicness" (with Swaziland least civic, South Africa most, and Mozambique in between); the framing of HIV issues as pertaining to human rights is a positive aspect for development; association tactics are a mix of African reciprocity and new identities; and international linkages do help build up, albeit sporadically, transnational networks of volunteers in new public space who stand up for what they define as their rights. © 2011 International Studies Association.