Alex de Waal - New Pandemics, Old Politics

1 Cover

2 Dedication Dedication To my mother, Esther de Waal, who taught me how to think

3 Title Page NEW PANDEMICS, OLD POLITICS Two Hundred Years of War on Disease and its Alternatives Alex de Waal polity

4 Copyright Copyright © Alex de Waal 2021 The right of Alex de Waal to be identified as Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published in 2021 by Polity Press Polity Press 65 Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UR, UK Polity Press 101 Station Landing Suite 300 Medford, MA 02155, USA All rights reserved. Except for the quotation of short passages for the purpose of criticism and review, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISBN-13: 978-1-5095-4781-4 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: De Waal, Alex, author. Title: New pandemics, old politics : two hundred years of war on disease and its alternatives / Alex de Waal. Description: Medford : Polity Press, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “A brilliant account of the politics behind modern pandemics by a leading expert on humanitarian crisis and infectious disease”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020052814 (print) | LCCN 2020052815 (ebook) | ISBN 9781509547791 (hardback) | ISBN 9781509547807 (paperback) | ISBN 9781509547814 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Epidemics--Political aspects. | Epidemiology--Political aspects. Classification: LCC RA649 .D49 2021 (print) | LCC RA649 (ebook) | DDC 614.4--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052814 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052815 The publisher has used its best endeavours to ensure that the URLs for external websites referred to in this book are correct and active at the time of going to press. However, the publisher has no responsibility for the websites and can make no guarantee that a site will remain live or that the content is or will remain appropriate. Every effort has been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been overlooked the publisher will be pleased to include any necessary credits in any subsequent reprint or edition. For further information on Polity, visit our website: politybooks.com

5 Acknowledgements Acknowledgements This book began life as a compilation of reflections provisionally entitled ‘Critical Thinking in a Pandemic’, which became an essay in the 3 April 2020 online issue of Boston Review , entitled ‘New Pathogen, Old Politics’ ( http://bostonreview.net/science-nature/alex-de-waal-new-patho-gen-old-politics ). The Boston Review editors, Deb Chasman and Matt Lord, were indulgent, encouraging, and usefully critical. I have drawn on comments and critique from colleagues, students, and former students, including Lisa Avery, Bridget Conley, Sarah Detzner, Ella Duncan, Sulmaan Khan, Jared Miller, Aditya Sarkar, and Ben Spatz, as well as Louise Knight and Inès Boxman at Polity Press and anonymous reviewers.

6 1 Following the Science, Following the Script Following the Science A Week Is a Long Time The ‘War on Disease’ Storyline Towards Democratic, Ecological Public Health Notes

7 2 The Rage of Numbers: Cholera Cholera as Protagonist Cholera on the March Clausewitz and Cholera Post-Mortem on Clausewitz Cholera’s New Order The Streets of London Cholera’s Empire Declaring War on Disease The Train from Berlin Notes

8 3 Metamorphosis: Influenza The War before the War The Jester How It Began ‘Warriors’ A Story That Could Not Be Told Track Changes Notes

9 4 Who, Whom: HIV/AIDS Cohabiting with HIV HIV’s Thread After Austerity, after Conflict, after Apartheid Love and Liberation AIDS in the Margins of Error No Singular Story Notes

10 5 Imagined Unknowns: Pandemic X ‘Outbreak’ Institutionalizing Uncertainty Pandemic Preparedness Meets Bio-Terror Viruses Are Things of Beauty SARS: Storylines for Outbreak X Influenza: How to Name a Pandemic? The Usual Suspect, Ebola Notes

11 6 Emancipatory Catastrophe? Covid-19 De-Prepared Disruptive Capitalism and the Coronavirus What Is It Like to Be a Bat (Virus)? Alternatives to the ‘War on Disease’ Notes

12 References

13 Index

14 End User License Agreement

1 Cover

2 Table of Contents

3 Dedication

4 Title Page

5 Copyright

6 Acknowledgements

7 Begin Reading

8 References

9 Index

10 End User License Agreement

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