Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 08 - Humanitarian organisations: behemoths and butterflies
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 08 - Humanitarian organisations: behemoths and butterflies - contributed by Sarah S. Stroup. From the introduction One of the fascinating and sometimes frustrating aspects of international humanitarian response is that anyone can do it. According to the Good Humanitarian Donorship Initiative, humanitarian action seeks to ‘save lives, alleviate suffering and maintain human dignity during and in the aftermath of man-made crises and natural disasters, as well as to prevent and strengthen preparedness for the occurrence of such situations’ ( GHD, no date ). This emphasis on behavior (‘humanitarian action’) highlights that the humanitarian response comes from corporations, relief, and development NGOs, Western governments, Red Cross agencies, local religious groups, and many others ( Barnett, 2011 ...