humanitarianism and politics

Les côtes dévastées par le tsunami à Banda Aceh Sebastian Bolesch Opinion

Long live the (humanitarian) crisis!

06/22/2009 Rony Brauman

According to Wikipedia, "a humanitarian crisis is an event or series of events which carry with them a critical threat to the health, safety or wellbeing of a collectivity, usually over a wide area.

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Book

In the Shadow of Just Wars

09/01/2003 Fabrice Weissman

During the planning stages of military intervention in Iraq, humanitarian organizations were offered U.S. government funds to join the Coalition and operate uneder the umbrella of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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A group of refugees move on as they are told they can cross the border. Borja Ruiz Rodriguez Opinion

Codes of conduct: whose interests do they serve?

01/01/2003 Fiona Terry

As the USA announces its decision to suspend food aid to North Korea - one of the largest beneficiaries of global food aid - Fiona Terry reveals the true political issues behind the decision, and reminds us of how "humanitarian" assistance is used to bolster one of the planet's most oppressive regimes. 

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Analysis

Humanitarian Responsability

11/01/2001 Rony Brauman

Rony Brauman reminds us that humanitarian organisations cannot evaluate their actions solely by the yardstick of the means they implement, but that they have a responsibility to consider the real consequences of their actions.

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Analysis

Is Humanitarism a form of Political Commitment?

10/01/1996 Rony Brauman

Behind the question, "Is humanitarianism a commitment?", Rony Brauman warns against the use of humanitarianism in the public arena. Investing the political realm with the moral expectations of a better world, humanitarianism might unintentionally be helping to make "survival of the fittest" more palatable.

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