Depoliticising Humanitarian Action: Paradigms, Dilemmas, Resistance

Is it ever possible to separate humanitarian action from politics? Drawing on the expertise 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 depoliticization, the political background and context behind humanitarian action, and the daily dilemmas faced by practitioners walking that fine line between principles and pragmatism. Finally, the 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.

Isabelle Desportes is a Research Fellow at the Disaster Research Unit, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany. Her research focuses on the (hidden) politics of disaster prevention and humanitarian response, including in authoritarian conflict settings.

Alice Corbet is an anthropologist working for the French National Centre for Scientific Research. She does consulting work for non-governmental organisations and works on the issues of refugees and displaced persons, encampment and humanitarian relations.

Ayesha Siddiqi is a University Lecturer at the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. Her research examines postcolonial geographies of disasters.