Author: Joe Cropp
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000288293
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
This book investigates how humanitarians balance the laws and principles of civilian protection with the realities of contemporary warzones, where non-state armed actors assert cultural, political and religious traditions that are often at odds with official frameworks. This book argues that humanitarian protection on the ground is driven not by official frameworks in the traditional sense, but by the relationships between the complex mix of actors involved in contemporary wars. The frameworks, in turn, act as a unifying narrative that preserves these relationships. As humanitarian practitioners navigate this complex space, they act as unofficial brokers, translating the official frameworks to align with the often-divergent agendas of non-state armed actors. In doing so, they provide an unofficial humanitarian fix for the challenges inherent in applying the official frameworks in contemporary wars. Drawing on rich ethnographic observations from the author’s time in northern Iraq, and complemented by interviews with a range of fieldworkers and humanitarian policy makers and lawyers, this book will be a compelling read for researchers and students within humanitarian and development studies, and to practitioners and policy makers who are grappling with the contradictions this book explores.
The Humanitarian Fix
Author: Joe Cropp
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000288293
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
This book investigates how humanitarians balance the laws and principles of civilian protection with the realities of contemporary warzones, where non-state armed actors assert cultural, political and religious traditions that are often at odds with official frameworks. This book argues that humanitarian protection on the ground is driven not by official frameworks in the traditional sense, but by the relationships between the complex mix of actors involved in contemporary wars. The frameworks, in turn, act as a unifying narrative that preserves these relationships. As humanitarian practitioners navigate this complex space, they act as unofficial brokers, translating the official frameworks to align with the often-divergent agendas of non-state armed actors. In doing so, they provide an unofficial humanitarian fix for the challenges inherent in applying the official frameworks in contemporary wars. Drawing on rich ethnographic observations from the author’s time in northern Iraq, and complemented by interviews with a range of fieldworkers and humanitarian policy makers and lawyers, this book will be a compelling read for researchers and students within humanitarian and development studies, and to practitioners and policy makers who are grappling with the contradictions this book explores.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000288293
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 177
Book Description
This book investigates how humanitarians balance the laws and principles of civilian protection with the realities of contemporary warzones, where non-state armed actors assert cultural, political and religious traditions that are often at odds with official frameworks. This book argues that humanitarian protection on the ground is driven not by official frameworks in the traditional sense, but by the relationships between the complex mix of actors involved in contemporary wars. The frameworks, in turn, act as a unifying narrative that preserves these relationships. As humanitarian practitioners navigate this complex space, they act as unofficial brokers, translating the official frameworks to align with the often-divergent agendas of non-state armed actors. In doing so, they provide an unofficial humanitarian fix for the challenges inherent in applying the official frameworks in contemporary wars. Drawing on rich ethnographic observations from the author’s time in northern Iraq, and complemented by interviews with a range of fieldworkers and humanitarian policy makers and lawyers, this book will be a compelling read for researchers and students within humanitarian and development studies, and to practitioners and policy makers who are grappling with the contradictions this book explores.
No Easy Fix
Author: Patricia Marchak
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773578021
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
The UN has adopted a "responsibility to protect" mandate for humanitarian intervention in civil wars - but there is no institutional basis for carrying out that mandate. Patricia Marchak argues that unless would-be interveners have an understanding of local issues, agents who speak local languages, and a military force fully prepared to undertake both peaceful and military missions on short notice, UN and other attempts to intervene are unlikely to succeed. While UN-sponsored international criminal courts have been successful in obliging leaders to accept responsibility for their actions during bitter internal wars, Marchak argues that they may not be the best means of bringing truth and reconciliation to survivors. Based on the principle of individual responsibility, they are not designed to deal with collective crimes against humanity and genocide, nor are they good instruments for dealing with the breakdown of societies. Bringing together her own field interviews, documentary material, and secondary sources, Marchak critically assesses the recent history of international interventions and criminal prosecutions. She examines three cases in detail: Cambodia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia in its current forms of Bosnia and Serbia, considers their international context prior to and during internal wars, and argues that each case has to be understood in its own context and history - there is no common pattern and no easy fix that could mend broken societies after the wars. No Easy Fix is of interest to anyone concerned with how the international community deals with civil wars that involve serious crimes against humanity.
Publisher: McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP
ISBN: 0773578021
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
The UN has adopted a "responsibility to protect" mandate for humanitarian intervention in civil wars - but there is no institutional basis for carrying out that mandate. Patricia Marchak argues that unless would-be interveners have an understanding of local issues, agents who speak local languages, and a military force fully prepared to undertake both peaceful and military missions on short notice, UN and other attempts to intervene are unlikely to succeed. While UN-sponsored international criminal courts have been successful in obliging leaders to accept responsibility for their actions during bitter internal wars, Marchak argues that they may not be the best means of bringing truth and reconciliation to survivors. Based on the principle of individual responsibility, they are not designed to deal with collective crimes against humanity and genocide, nor are they good instruments for dealing with the breakdown of societies. Bringing together her own field interviews, documentary material, and secondary sources, Marchak critically assesses the recent history of international interventions and criminal prosecutions. She examines three cases in detail: Cambodia, Rwanda, and the former Yugoslavia in its current forms of Bosnia and Serbia, considers their international context prior to and during internal wars, and argues that each case has to be understood in its own context and history - there is no common pattern and no easy fix that could mend broken societies after the wars. No Easy Fix is of interest to anyone concerned with how the international community deals with civil wars that involve serious crimes against humanity.
The Vulnerable Humanitarian
Author: Gemma Houldey
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000432556
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
The Vulnerable Humanitarian challenges the prevalence of stress and burnout culture within the aid sector, laying bare the issues of power, agency, security and wellbeing that continue to trouble organisations and staff. Engaging and insightful, this book illustrates the problematic and unrealistic expectations of aid workers through the archetype of the perfect humanitarian, and considers why burnout is so endemic, yet so rarely acknowledged, within aid organisations. The book provides practical means through which staff and managers can reflect upon and discuss damaging organisational cultures and behaviours, and develop a more inclusive and caring work environment. Drawing on original academic research and interviews with national and international aid workers and development experts, the book proposes a feminist, anti-racist and decolonial agenda in challenging oppressive systems and structures within the sector. With extensive professional experience as an aid worker herself, Gemma Houldey also shares her own struggles with mental health and what she has learned from feminist practices for self- and collective care. Proposing new ways of addressing wellbeing that are sensitive to the multi-faceted personalities and lived experiences of people working on aid and development programmes, The Vulnerable Humanitarian is essential reading both for current aid sector employees and for prospective employees and students.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000432556
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 154
Book Description
The Vulnerable Humanitarian challenges the prevalence of stress and burnout culture within the aid sector, laying bare the issues of power, agency, security and wellbeing that continue to trouble organisations and staff. Engaging and insightful, this book illustrates the problematic and unrealistic expectations of aid workers through the archetype of the perfect humanitarian, and considers why burnout is so endemic, yet so rarely acknowledged, within aid organisations. The book provides practical means through which staff and managers can reflect upon and discuss damaging organisational cultures and behaviours, and develop a more inclusive and caring work environment. Drawing on original academic research and interviews with national and international aid workers and development experts, the book proposes a feminist, anti-racist and decolonial agenda in challenging oppressive systems and structures within the sector. With extensive professional experience as an aid worker herself, Gemma Houldey also shares her own struggles with mental health and what she has learned from feminist practices for self- and collective care. Proposing new ways of addressing wellbeing that are sensitive to the multi-faceted personalities and lived experiences of people working on aid and development programmes, The Vulnerable Humanitarian is essential reading both for current aid sector employees and for prospective employees and students.
Depoliticising Humanitarian Action
Author: Isabelle Desportes
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040097405
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232
Book Description
Is it ever possible to separate humanitarian action from politics? Drawing on the experience of both practitioners and researchers, this book is an essential guide to the thorny interplay between what are too often considered as separate worlds. The humanitarian sector aims to separate its work from politics, arguing that independence and neutrality are essential in order to gain entry into disaster and conflict settings. Yet, humanitarian claims of non-involvement in politics have also been dismissed as misleading, naive, or counter-productive. In practice, humanitarians find themselves working within political settings on a daily basis. This book investigates the theory behind depoliticisation, the political background and context behind humanitarian action, and the daily dilemmas faced by practitioners walking that fine line between principles and pragmatism. Finally, this book considers the importance of decolonising mainstream understandings of humanitarianism and politics, and of placing understandings from the Global South at the heart of the discussion. Balancing theoretical insights with empirical grounding, field examples, and recommendations for policy and practice, this book is perfect for researchers and students in humanitarian studies, political science, international relations, human rights, development studies, disaster studies, and peace and conflict studies, as well as humanitarian practitioners and policy makers.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1040097405
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 232
Book Description
Is it ever possible to separate humanitarian action from politics? Drawing on the experience of both practitioners and researchers, this book is an essential guide to the thorny interplay between what are too often considered as separate worlds. The humanitarian sector aims to separate its work from politics, arguing that independence and neutrality are essential in order to gain entry into disaster and conflict settings. Yet, humanitarian claims of non-involvement in politics have also been dismissed as misleading, naive, or counter-productive. In practice, humanitarians find themselves working within political settings on a daily basis. This book investigates the theory behind depoliticisation, the political background and context behind humanitarian action, and the daily dilemmas faced by practitioners walking that fine line between principles and pragmatism. Finally, this book considers the importance of decolonising mainstream understandings of humanitarianism and politics, and of placing understandings from the Global South at the heart of the discussion. Balancing theoretical insights with empirical grounding, field examples, and recommendations for policy and practice, this book is perfect for researchers and students in humanitarian studies, political science, international relations, human rights, development studies, disaster studies, and peace and conflict studies, as well as humanitarian practitioners and policy makers.
Chasing Chaos
Author: Jessica Alexander
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0770436919
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
Jessica Alexander arrived in Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide as an idealistic intern, eager to contribute to the work of the international humanitarian aid community. But the world that she encountered in the field was dramatically different than anything she could have imagined. It was messy, chaotic, and difficult—but she was hooked. In this honest and irreverent memoir, she introduces readers to the realities of life as an aid worker. We watch as she manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, collects evidence for the Charles Taylor trial in Sierra Leone, and contributes to the massive aid effort to clean up a shattered Haiti. But we also see the alcohol-fueled parties and fleeting romances, the burnouts and self-doubt, and the struggle to do good in places that have long endured suffering. Tracing her personal journey from wide-eyed and naïve newcomer to hardened cynic and, ultimately, to hopeful but critical realist, Alexander transports readers to some of the most troubled locations around the world and shows us not only the seemingly impossible challenges, but also the moments of resilience and recovery.
Publisher: Crown
ISBN: 0770436919
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 401
Book Description
Jessica Alexander arrived in Rwanda in the aftermath of the 1994 genocide as an idealistic intern, eager to contribute to the work of the international humanitarian aid community. But the world that she encountered in the field was dramatically different than anything she could have imagined. It was messy, chaotic, and difficult—but she was hooked. In this honest and irreverent memoir, she introduces readers to the realities of life as an aid worker. We watch as she manages a 24,000-person camp in Darfur, collects evidence for the Charles Taylor trial in Sierra Leone, and contributes to the massive aid effort to clean up a shattered Haiti. But we also see the alcohol-fueled parties and fleeting romances, the burnouts and self-doubt, and the struggle to do good in places that have long endured suffering. Tracing her personal journey from wide-eyed and naïve newcomer to hardened cynic and, ultimately, to hopeful but critical realist, Alexander transports readers to some of the most troubled locations around the world and shows us not only the seemingly impossible challenges, but also the moments of resilience and recovery.
Citizen Humanitarianism at European Borders
Author: Maria Gabrielsen Jumbert
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000377911
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
At a time of escalating conflict between states and NGOs engaged in migrant search and rescue operations across the Mediterranean, this book explores the emerging trend of citizen-led forms of helping others at the borders of Europe. In recent years, Europe’s borders have become new sites of intervention for traditional humanitarian actors and governmental agencies, but also, increasingly, for volunteer and activist initiatives led by "ordinary" citizens. This book sets out to interrogate the shifting relationship between humanitarianism, the securitization of border and migration regimes, and citizenship. Critically examining the "do it yourself" character of refugee aid practices performed by non-professionals coming together to help in informal and spontaneous manners, the volume considers the extent to which these new humanitarian practices challenge established conceptualisations of membership, belonging, and active citizenship. Drawing on case studies from countries around Europe including Greece, Turkey, Italy, France and Russia, this collection constitutes an innovative and theoretically engaged attempt to bring the field of humanitarian studies into dialogue with studies of grassroots refugee aid and, more explicitly, with political forms of solidarity with migrants and refugees which fall between aid and activism. This book is key reading for advanced students and researchers of humanitarian aid, European migration and refugees, and citizen-led activism.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000377911
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 174
Book Description
At a time of escalating conflict between states and NGOs engaged in migrant search and rescue operations across the Mediterranean, this book explores the emerging trend of citizen-led forms of helping others at the borders of Europe. In recent years, Europe’s borders have become new sites of intervention for traditional humanitarian actors and governmental agencies, but also, increasingly, for volunteer and activist initiatives led by "ordinary" citizens. This book sets out to interrogate the shifting relationship between humanitarianism, the securitization of border and migration regimes, and citizenship. Critically examining the "do it yourself" character of refugee aid practices performed by non-professionals coming together to help in informal and spontaneous manners, the volume considers the extent to which these new humanitarian practices challenge established conceptualisations of membership, belonging, and active citizenship. Drawing on case studies from countries around Europe including Greece, Turkey, Italy, France and Russia, this collection constitutes an innovative and theoretically engaged attempt to bring the field of humanitarian studies into dialogue with studies of grassroots refugee aid and, more explicitly, with political forms of solidarity with migrants and refugees which fall between aid and activism. This book is key reading for advanced students and researchers of humanitarian aid, European migration and refugees, and citizen-led activism.
Armed Humanitarians
Author: Robert C. DiPrizio
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801870675
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
Since the end of the Cold War, the US military has found itself embroiled in many "operations other than war" - most controversially, in humanitarian interventions. DiPrizio examines the factors that lay behind decisions to send in troops, analyzing the decision-making process and its constraints.
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 9780801870675
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 260
Book Description
Since the end of the Cold War, the US military has found itself embroiled in many "operations other than war" - most controversially, in humanitarian interventions. DiPrizio examines the factors that lay behind decisions to send in troops, analyzing the decision-making process and its constraints.
Hearings Before and Special Reports Made by Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives on Subjects Affecting the Naval and Military Establishments
Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Legislative hearings
Languages : en
Pages : 1144
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Legislative hearings
Languages : en
Pages : 1144
Book Description
Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet?
Author: Jessica Fanzo
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421441136
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 235
Book Description
How can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to improve food systems before our planet loses its ability to sustain itself and its people? Do we have the right to eat wrongly? As the world's agricultural, environmental, and nutritional needs intersect—and often collide—how can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to reverse the damage by changing how we make, distribute, and purchase food? Can such changes in practice and policy reverse the trajectories of the biggest global crises impacting our world: the burden of chronic diseases, the consequences of climate change, and the systemic economic and social inequities that exist within and among nations? Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet? is a clarion call for both individual consumers and those who shape our planet's food and environmental policies that: • describes the often destructive path that foods take from farms and seas through their processing, distribution, marketing, purchasing and waste management sites • explores the complex web of factors impacting our ability to simultaneously meet nutritional needs, sustain biodiversity and protect the environment • raises readers' food and environmental literacy through an engaging narrative about Fanzo's research on five continents along with the work of other inspiring global experts who are providing solutions to these crises • empowers readers to contribute to immediate and long-term changes by informing their decisions in restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, and kitchens
Publisher: JHU Press
ISBN: 1421441136
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 235
Book Description
How can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to improve food systems before our planet loses its ability to sustain itself and its people? Do we have the right to eat wrongly? As the world's agricultural, environmental, and nutritional needs intersect—and often collide—how can consumers, nations, and international organizations work together to reverse the damage by changing how we make, distribute, and purchase food? Can such changes in practice and policy reverse the trajectories of the biggest global crises impacting our world: the burden of chronic diseases, the consequences of climate change, and the systemic economic and social inequities that exist within and among nations? Can Fixing Dinner Fix the Planet? is a clarion call for both individual consumers and those who shape our planet's food and environmental policies that: • describes the often destructive path that foods take from farms and seas through their processing, distribution, marketing, purchasing and waste management sites • explores the complex web of factors impacting our ability to simultaneously meet nutritional needs, sustain biodiversity and protect the environment • raises readers' food and environmental literacy through an engaging narrative about Fanzo's research on five continents along with the work of other inspiring global experts who are providing solutions to these crises • empowers readers to contribute to immediate and long-term changes by informing their decisions in restaurants, grocery stores, farmers markets, and kitchens
No Path Home
Author: Elizabeth Cullen Dunn
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501712500
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
For more than 60 million displaced people around the world, humanitarian aid has become a chronic condition. No Path Home describes its symptoms in detail. Elizabeth Cullen Dunn shows how war creates a deeply damaged world in which the structures that allow people to occupy social roles, constitute economic value, preserve bodily integrity, and engage in meaningful daily practice have been blown apart. After the Georgian war with Russia in 2008, Dunn spent sixteen months immersed in the everyday lives of the 28,000 people placed in thirty-six resettlement camps by official and nongovernmental organizations acting in concert with the Georgian government. She reached the conclusion that the humanitarian condition poses a survival problem that is not only biological but also existential. In No Path Home, she paints a moving picture of the ways in which humanitarianism leaves displaced people in limbo, neither in a state of emergency nor able to act as normal citizens in the country where they reside.
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501712500
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 368
Book Description
For more than 60 million displaced people around the world, humanitarian aid has become a chronic condition. No Path Home describes its symptoms in detail. Elizabeth Cullen Dunn shows how war creates a deeply damaged world in which the structures that allow people to occupy social roles, constitute economic value, preserve bodily integrity, and engage in meaningful daily practice have been blown apart. After the Georgian war with Russia in 2008, Dunn spent sixteen months immersed in the everyday lives of the 28,000 people placed in thirty-six resettlement camps by official and nongovernmental organizations acting in concert with the Georgian government. She reached the conclusion that the humanitarian condition poses a survival problem that is not only biological but also existential. In No Path Home, she paints a moving picture of the ways in which humanitarianism leaves displaced people in limbo, neither in a state of emergency nor able to act as normal citizens in the country where they reside.