Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 06 - Localisation and the humanitarian sector

Every two weeks I am going to feature one of the chapters of our Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality which was published in spring 2024. 

This week we are taking a closer look at Chapter 06 - Localisation and the humanitarian sector - contributed by Rita Stephan and Claudia E. Youakim

From the introduction
Over the past 15 years, the humanitarian crises have grown sixfold. Despite these alarming and swelling trends in humanitarian aid demand, a greater number of people who are affected by conflict and disaster ‘are unreached or underserved by the humanitarian sector’ (Robillard et al., 2021; Girling and Urquhart, 2021). The humanitarian financing gap is growing whilethe availability of qualified and willing staff to meet the needs of people in crisis is becoming increasingly challenging (UNHCR, 2016). Some observers suggest that one way to ‘fix’ the formal system is to improve donors’ effective engagement with local actors. Empowering local actors will not only address the growing humanitarian crisis gap, it will also rectify the long-standing socio-historical power imbalance set by the international community and the world order (e.g. Cohen and Gingerich, 2015).
Two recent events that emerged in 2020 have caught the attention of the global community by force and dictated a new arrangement of international and local actors. First, the COVID-19 pandemic halted international travel, carving a way for the role of local actors and organisations in leading and addressing local needs. This also demonstrated the value of local actors’ ability to respond to local needs based on proximity, an essential component that is vital in times of crisis. And second, the Black Lives Matter movement, following the murder of George Floyd in the US, sparked a growing awareness of global systemic racism. This movement resonated and unified people worldwide in efforts to decolonise humanitarian assistance. It also provided a platform for more conversations on the abuse of power, inequitable treatment, and ineffectiveness of existing system processes.

Note on contributors
Rita Stephan is a Research Fellow at The Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University. Her publications focus on women’s movements in the Middle East and the Middle Eastern community in the US Census. She edited COVID and Gender in the Middle East, Women Rising: In and Beyond the Arab Spring and In Line with the Divine: The Struggle for Gender Equality in Lebanon. She has served in various capacities in the Census Bureau, USAID, and the State Department.

Claudia E. Youakim is a research affiliate at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University where she teaches on diversity and equity in international relations. She is also the Director of Data and Research at the Arab American Institute. She led national and regional research projects with USAID and the State Department. She is the co-editor of Arab Worlds Beyond the Arab World and has authored articles on the social and economic developments of women of color and ethnic communities.

Overviews are already available for the following chapters:
Introduction: humanitarianism and inequality – a re-orientation

Humanitarianism and colonialism

Humanitarianism and the global Cold War, 1945–1991

Humanitarianism and the new wars: humanitarianism, security, and securitisation

Humanitarianism, development and peace: a southern perspective 

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