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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.Contributors: Michael
Barnett, University of Minnesota; Craig Calhoun, New
York University; James D. Fearon, Stanford University;
Laura Hammond, SOAS, University of London; Peter J.
Hoffman, Hunter College; Stephen Hopgood, SOAS,
University of London; Peter Redfield, University of
North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Jennifer C. Rubenstein,
Princeton University; Jack Snyder, Columbia University;
Janice Gross Stein, University of Toronto; Thomas G.
Weiss, CUNY Graduate Center |
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