Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 39 - Pracademvism – forever unequal or the new nexus in global development and humanitarianism

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 39 - Pracademvism – forever unequal or the new nexus in global development and humanitarianism - contributed by Themrise Khan. 

After almost two years, all 39 chapters of the handbook have been highlighted with their own short overview blog post, a great way to once again say Thank you to all the collaborators of the project!

From the introduction 
In the global development and humanitarian sector, however, academia is challenged by its sister concern, practitioner-based knowledge. Given that the sector relies heavily on the ‘practice’ of global development in order to create equality of rights and opportunities, academia can simply outline a framework for how such practice can unfold, not control the actual events or outcomes. This has created tensions between the two forms of knowledge specifically in this sector. But can the two work together to strengthen the pursuit of equality, or will they always be at cross-purposes? 
This chapter aims to explore these tensions by unpacking the respective perspectives that each brings. It also unveils a third link in the pursuit for knowledge – activism, now a key mechanism to create equality for global development. I term these three links as ‘pracademvism’ and attempt to explore how they can work together, as opposed to against each other while keeping the prime objective in focus – equality and human development. I begin with attempting to contextualise knowledge itself and our limited way of defining it. I follow this with unpacking each of the three forms of knowledge: academic, practitioner, and activist and the role that each plays in global development and humanitarianism, using my own personal experiences as a global development practitioner. The next section outlines how the three ‘spheres of influence’ as I call them, can work in tandem with each other to battle inequality. Finally, I envision how ‘pracademvism’ can operate in practice using a real-life example to illustrate. My conclusion states that it will be to our detriment if we continue to pit each against the other or exclude one from the other. Each brings a unique form of knowledge that is vital in creating an equitable world.

Note on contributor 
Themrise Khan is an independent development professional and researcher with over 25 years of practitioner and policy-based experience in international development. She has a number of publications and articles to her credit. She has just published a co-edited book, White Saviorism in International Development. Theories, Practices and Lived Experiences (Daraja Press, 2023). 
She blogs, speaks and writes on North–South power imbalances in development, race relations and immigrant citizenship and integration.

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

Localisation and the humanitarian sector

Human rights and humanitarianism

Humanitarian organisations: behemoths and butterflies

Faith actors in humanitarianism: dynamics and inequalities

Diaspora assistance

Political solidarity movements and humanitarianism: lessons from Catalonia, Spain (1975–2020)

Subversive humanitarianism

Citizen’s groups and grassroots humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and the military

Race, racialisation, and coloniality in the humanitarian aid sector

Humanitarian organisations as gendered organisations

Sexuality and humanitarianism: colonial ‘hauntings’

Class matters in humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and disability

Media representations of humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and pandemics

Humanitarian technologies

Linguistic inequality in the humanitarian sector: unravelling English-centric multilingualism

Climate change, disasters and humanitarian action

Refugee protection and assistance

Trafficking in persons, long-term vulnerabilities, and humanitarianism

Humanitarianism and Native America

Australia, New Zealand, and Pacific Regions

International humanitarianism in East Asia

West Asia and North Africa

Africa’s long fight for humanitarian self-sufficiency

The Latin American experience: inequality's role in shaping humanitarianism

Varieties of European humanitarianism

Humanitarian research ethics and the ethics of research in humanitarian settings

Archives and historical perspectives in researching humanitarianism

Quantitative Methods

Power dynamics in the use of qualitative methods in humanitarianism

Discussing inequalities in evaluation of humanitarian action 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Should I consider a PhD in International Development Studies?

After the Economist’s piece on the (non-)value of doing a PhD and some comments later (e.g. Prometheus doesn't read the Economist (I like the slightly cynical dichotomy between ‘civilians’ and the ‘academic insiders) or the ' 100 Reasons NOT to Go to Graduate School ' (they are only halfway through so check it out regularly in the future...) I had an interesting conversation with a prospective PhD student a few days ago. This was not the first time that I had been approached about doing a PhD and I always try to be as frank as possible, even playing the ‘devil’s advocate’ when it comes to the complicated ‘should I or shouldn’t I?’ decision-making process. At the end of our conversation I sat down and tried to summarize a few important and generic points from the point of view of doing a PhD in Development Studies and in the UK . I understand that every case is different and involves a range of motives, options and rationales, but there a few important questions and t...
Read more

Artificial Intelligence (AI) & ChatGPT in development and humanitarian work-a curated collection

Image
As AI, ChatGPT & broader discussions on the tools & technology behind it enter the digital #globaldev discussion sphere, I started a curated collection of articles & podcasts that have caught my attention so far. Much of the content is about early experiments with ChatGPT with a few writers sharing broader reflections on potential opportunities & problems-often along the lines of what has previously been discussed in the ICT4D field around 'digital divides', 'technology not solving deeper-rooted political issues' & 'we don't know yet'... Not surprisingly, almost all of the authors are based (in organizations) in the Global North, but not as gender-imbalanced as I would have thought, given that (technical) #globaldev writing on the Internet is still dominated by male writers. I will update the collection on a rolling basis-so don't hesitate to point me to stuff I have overlooked so far! P.S.: I asked Nightcafe for an AI-generated image...
Read more

Who Owns England? (Book review)

Image
It has been quite a while since I shared a review of a book that is not directly related to international development. But Guy Shrubsole’s Who Owns England? How We Lost Our Green & Pleasant Land & How To Take It Back makes for a great exception-especially as some readers may still be compiling their summer reading lists. One of the reasons I enjoyed his book so much is that content and form align really well. The topic of English landownership is timely and important and Shrubsole manages really well to take the more technical task of measuring land ownership across different ownership groups to the next level by presenting an engaging narrative full of small details and big numbers, woven into a text that combines research, journalism and activism very well. Little has changed since the days of the Domesday Book Right from the start we are reminded that the history of landownership is not simply about abstract, technical or physical transactions, but opens up deep-rooted ...
Read more

Handbook on Humanitarianism and Inequality - Chapter 38 - Discussing inequalities in evaluation of humanitarian action

Image
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 38 - Discussing inequalities in evaluation of humanitarian action - contributed by Bonaventure Gbétoho Sokpoh and Tobias Denskus. From the introduction  This chapter is based on an interview with Bonaventure Gbétoho Sokpoh (BGS) that was conducted by Tobias Denskus (TD) in May 2022 via Zoom. The chapter presents excerpts from the interview, which were edited for length, clarity, and reading flow.  In the spirit of the Handbook we inserted academic references to the text afterwards to frame the different sections of the interview. These references point the reader to further academic references, policy guides, practical resources, and evaluation reports. However, the critical reflections from an expert with unique insights into the ‘engine room’ of humanitarian evaluations – as local e...
Read more

Dear white middle class British women: Please don't send used bras (or anything, really) to Africa

Image
I am supposed to be on my summer blogging break , but the world of bad development does not seem to take a vacation... The first time I came across the #SWEDOW (Stuff We Don't Want) debate about what to do with unwanted stuff and whether to send it to 'Africa' was in 2010; in fact, I wrote about a shoe donation project on the blog in 2012. Fast forward to July 2019 and a local British Women's Institute Facebook page with about 500 page likes is posting a picture of two innocent-looking parcels that has been shared very widely. The vast majority of the 500+ comments under the post are positive and I am sure that both charities will receive quite a few parcels in the next few days. It seems almost futile and pointing out bad examples of charity and development is not always the best way to communicate, but I anonymize the post as much as possible to avoid simply shaming a particular Women's Institute chapter. 'Rapey men here are the same as rapey men t...
Read more