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Showing posts from February, 2025

Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 10 – Diaspora assistance

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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 10 – Diaspora assistance   – contributed by Anjana Narayan and Lise-Hélène Smith. From the introduction The role of diasporas as key humanitarian actors in their countries of origin is a burgeoning area of research among scholars and policy makers. This chapter builds on the existing body of literature to provide critical insights into the complex relationships between diaspora assistance, immigrant experiences, and notions of belonging to native homelands. We begin with a critical review of the ways diaspora humanitarianism and philanthropy has been theorised and examine key debates and discussions in the literature. A distinctive part of the diasporic humanitarianism literature focuses on Christian, Jewish, and Islamic humanitarianism. Because the existing template is based on Semitic r...

The dismantling of USAID & the paradoxes of global development

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What is happening to USAID now is an unprecedented attack on global development and humanitarianism. If we zoom out a little bit it is also an almost unparalleled moment to revisit some of the great paradoxes of giving aid, of two things being true at the same time and the many shades of grey in-between. The bigger picture that is emerging, not just in the US, but across OECD donors, is that the global, post WWII development consensus is being dismantled and most of the legitimate criticism about the aid-industrial complex is replaced with vindictive, right-wing politics. I am convinced that very little good will come from this “disruption” and that more people globally will be worse off in the aftermath than benefit from short-term notions of cutting off overpaid Western consultants from the taxpayers’ purse. And yet, giving and receiving aid has always be a complicated endeavor and I am going to look at some of the paradoxes that are coming to light right now. Paradox (Merriam-Webst...