n African Journal of Rhetoric - Instrumentalising AU declarations : rhetoric, multiculturalism and HIV/AIDS

Abstract

HIV/AIDS has made reasonable progress as either a medical predicament that the science community had to deal with or a socio-political conundrum to be resolved. The pandemic largely has exposed the strength and weaknesses of deliberative and legislative structures and existing different channels of policy implementation. One of the critical structures responsible for setting policy direction for the continent is the African Union and its management of the HIV/AIDS discourse as a key agency is the subject of this paper. In a recently published paper, Ige [1] and Quinlan used Benedict Anderson's theory that suggests the idea of 'goodness of nations' and juxtaposed that with the Derrida's notion of 'negation of enemy.' The result is the notable disjunction or distortion in policy framing and implementation which might adversely affect the citizenry. The result of the project is an edited volume. This paper will engage more robustly with the theories and will look further at the rhetorical and multicultural implications for the implementation of decisions contained in AU declarations as an instrument for state policy and decision-making processes.