The Health of Nations ― Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, and Their Effects on National Security and Development

In recent decades, new pathogens such as HIV, the Ebola virus, and the BSE prion haveemerged, while old scourges such as tuberculosis, cholera, and malaria have grown increasinglyresistant to treatment. The global spread of disease does not threaten the human species, but itthreatens the prosperity and stability of human societies.In this pathbreaking book, AndrewPrice-Smith investigates the influence of infectious disease on nations' stability and prosperity.He also provides a theoretical and empirical foundation for the emerging field of health security.Price-Smith shows that the global proliferation of infectious disease will limit the ability ofstates to govern themselves effectively and to maximize their economic power. Because infectiousdisease can cause poverty, intra-state violence and political instability may increase. This in turnmay have negative long-term effects on regional economic and political stability, damaginginternational relations and development.Price-Smith takes an interdisciplinary approach to topicsranging from the effects of global environmental change on the spread of disease to the feedbackloop between public health and the strength of a nation's economy and its political stability overtime. As the proliferation of infectious disease threatens international stability and the policyinterests of the United States in years to come, its study will become an increasingly importantsubfield of political science.

Andrew T. Price-Smith is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Director of the Project on Energy, Environment, and Global Security at The Colorado College. He is the author of The Health of Nations: Infectious Disease, Environmental Change, and Their Effects on National Security and Development (MIT Press, 2002) and is the editor of Plagues and Politics: Infectious Disease and International Policy