The End of Exceptionalism or Exceptionalism by other Means? Unraveling the Contradictions of HIV/AIDS Governance in Canada

Abstract

ABSTRACT How is HIV/AIDS both exceptional yet no longer worthy of a distinct state response? Reflecting on state efforts in Canada to normalize HIV/AIDS and fold it into a more integrated response to sexually transmitted infections and bloodborne illnesses, we examine how ‘end of HIV/AIDS exceptionalism’ narratives obscure the new ways in which state power is being deployed such that, at the level of bodies and community organizations, actors are still subjected to exceptional state surveillance and control. In spite of continued efforts to normalize HIV/AIDS and blunt the advocacy of AIDS organizations, we argue that state power has intensified in ways that suggest that HIV/AIDS is still exceptional after all.