Look Back in Anger: Hemophilia and AIDS Activism in the International Tainted-Blood Crisis

During the 1980s, the AIDS epidemic devastated the hemophiliac population. It also fostered the emergence of hemophilia activists, who have had a profound effect on policy and politics in scores of nations. Drawing on case studies of 11 countries, this article examines the impact of this emerging interest group on politics and policy outcomes. In addition, it compares the strategies adopted by hemophilia activists and gay activists, specifically the reliance on victimization or rights as the premise of demands for public support. Although the article focuses on community mobilization around AIDS, it speaks more generally to the growing international impact of interest group (or identity) politics on policy.