Event Title
Beyond Good Intentions: The Principles and Politics of Humanitarian Assistance
Department
Political Science
Location
Henry M. Hogan Campus Center
Start Date
6-4-2019 9:30 AM
End Date
6-4-2019 10:45 AM
Description
With 68.5 million people displaced globally from war and disaster, the need to help has arguably never been greater. This is the mission of humanitarian organizations: to alleviate human suffering wherever it is found. Once the domain of amateurs, humanitarianism is today a $27 billion enterprise increasingly populated by professional aid workers and agencies, from Catholic Relief Services to Oxfam to Médecins Sans Frontières. This course traces the development of the global humanitarian system. It focuses on the complexities that arise when principled actors work in unprincipled situations, on the harm that can paradoxically result, and on the approaches to reforming the system.
Beyond Good Intentions: The Principles and Politics of Humanitarian Assistance
Henry M. Hogan Campus Center
With 68.5 million people displaced globally from war and disaster, the need to help has arguably never been greater. This is the mission of humanitarian organizations: to alleviate human suffering wherever it is found. Once the domain of amateurs, humanitarianism is today a $27 billion enterprise increasingly populated by professional aid workers and agencies, from Catholic Relief Services to Oxfam to Médecins Sans Frontières. This course traces the development of the global humanitarian system. It focuses on the complexities that arise when principled actors work in unprincipled situations, on the harm that can paradoxically result, and on the approaches to reforming the system.