Category: Humanitarianism

The Ambivalent Juridification of Humanitarian Space

While humanitarians remain sceptical of legal regulation, litigation, and lawyers, the sector is going through a process of juridification. This blog post takes stock of the ambivalence to law and emergent shifts in the sector and calls for international law scholars to pay more attention. ‘We have a toxic relationship with the law’ the aid… Read more »

We Could Have Prevented Thousands of Deaths in Libya

As Libya’s death toll rises due to the massive floods triggered by Hurricane Daniel, it’s normal to wonder if such a catastrophe could have been prevented. New research published this month gives a better understanding of how and why countries affected by armed conflict are more vulnerable to disaster.

Morocco’s Response to French Aid After the Earthquake: Reverse Humanitarian Diplomacy?

Morocco was hit hard by the earthquake in the evening of September 8th, and has been scrambling to organize rescue and first aid operations to the affected areas since – notably the hard-to-reach and most badly hit villages of the Atlas mountains. On Monday 11 September, it was announced that Morocco had accepted the aid… Read more »

Governance and Survival after the Earthquake: The Political Complexities of Humanitarian Assistance

The earthquake in Turkey and Syria on 6 February is tragic beyond what we are able to fathom. The World Health Organization’s Europe branch has labelled the 7.8 magnitude earthquake and a secondary 7.6 magnitude aftershock as the region’s “worst natural disaster” in 100 years. By 17 February, there have been near 44 000 registered… Read more »

A Perfect Storm? The Impact of the Ukraine War on Donor Priorities

Two seemingly unrelated global events in September – the devastating floods in Pakistan and the Russian closure of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline – intersect on the issue of funding for humanitarian relief. The surge in power prices, the fall in European currencies, and the fears of economic downturn in Europe as a result… Read more »