Is the Treatment Action Campaign effective? A literature review.

In their book How Social Movements Matter (1999), Tarrow, Giugni, McAdam, and Tilly, argue that it is of utmost importance to understand the effectiveness of social movements, since their core function is to bring about processes of social and political change. Analysts of social movements have begun to examine both the intended and unintended consequences of movement activity. However, the impact and effectiveness of social movements still constitute a relatively neglected area of academic inquiry. This literature review will reveal that such criticism is also applicable to the literature on the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC). Whilst this question is beyond the scope of this review, it is possible that the source of the weaknesses within the literature on TAC may stem from the controversies and deficiencies existing within the broader social movement literature.