Humanitarianism in Question

by Barnett, Michael

• ISBN13: 9780801444869
• ISBN10: 0801444861
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-03-01
• Publisher: Cornell Univ Pr

Summary

Years of tremendous growth in response to complex emergencies have left a mark on the humanitarian sector. Various matters that once seemed settled are now subjects of intense debate. What is humanitarianism? Is it limited to the provision of relief to victims of conflict, or does it include broader objectives such as human rights, democracy promotion, development, and peacebuilding? For much of the last century, the principles of humanitarianism were guided by neutrality, impartiality, and independence. More recently, some humanitarian organizations have begun to relax these tenets. The recognition that humanitarian action can lead to negative consequences has forced humanitarian organizations to measure their effectiveness, to reflect on their ethical positions, and to consider not only the values that motivate their actions but also the consequences of those actions. In the indispensable Humanitarianism in Question, Michael Barnett and Thomas G. Weiss bring together scholars from a variety of disciplines to address the humanitarian identity crisis, including humanitarianism's relationship to accountability, great powers, privatization and corporate philanthropy, warlords, and the ethical evaluations that inform life-and-death decision making during and after emergencies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. vii
List of Abbreviations	p. ix
Humanitarianism: A Brief History of the Present	p. 1
The Rise of Emergency Relief Aid	p. 49
The Imperative to Reduce Suffering: Charity, Progress, and Emergencies in the Field of Humanitarian Action	p. 73
Saying "No" to Wal-Mart? Money and Morality in Professional Humanitarianism	p. 98
Humanitarian Organizations: Accountable-Why, to Whom, for What, and How?	p. 124
The Grand Strategies of Humanitarianism	p. 143
The Power of Holding Humanitarianism Hostage and the Myth of Protective Principles	p. 172
Sacrifice, Triage, and Global Humanitarianism	p. 196
The Distributive Commitments of International NGOs	p. 215
Humanitarianism as a Scholarly Vocation	p. 235
Humanitarianism and Practitioners: Social Science Matters	p. 264
Contributors	p. 287
Index	p. 291
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