HIV and state failure: is HIV a security risk?

There is a growing recognition that infectious diseases can easily spill across national borders and threaten global peace and stability. This has resulted in a change in focus from reduction in HIV/AIDS being a component of development to also being an important consideration for security. This paper explores the interlinkages between HIV and state failure by empirically testing for any direct impact of HIV on different indicators of state fragility. In general, we do not find any conclusive evidence of a direct impact of HIV on state fragility.