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Paper short abstract:

This paper argues that humanitarian organizations need to move away from outdated, colonial principles like neutrality and support a shift in power to structurally oppressed communities to create more equitable and effective responses in times of crisis.

Paper long abstract:

There has been a growing recognition that the principle of neutrality, ...as a guiding principle in humanitarian action alongside humanity, impartiality, and independence, is not only outdated but also creates visible harm by perpetuating colonial legacies such as systemic marginalization, aid dependency and economic inequity. This paper explores the imperative to challenge humanitarian practices, emphasizing the need to shift power to structurally oppressed communities to allow a more equitable and effective response in times of conflict and crisis.

Neutrality has long been promoted by international humanitarian organisations largely based in the Global North as a guiding principle in humanitarian action. However, a critical examination reveals that neutrality often reinforces power imbalances, sidelining the voices and agency of those directly affected by crises.

This paper aims to engage scholars, practitioners, and policymakers in a dialogue that challenges the conventional wisdom surrounding neutrality. By unpacking its historical roots and interrogating its impact on contemporary humanitarian action in contexts such as Palestine and Rwanda, as well as on issues of access to medicines, participants will gain insights into the visible harm caused by perpetuating a supposedly neutral stance.

Furthermore, the paper will explore reimagining humanitarian action through the use of participatory principles, such as solidarity, inclusion and co-creation, that prioritize e supporting communities and and locally-led responses.

As we navigate an ever-changing global landscape marked by complex crises, this paper challenges attendees to rethink the foundations of humanitarianism and consider practical strategies for realignment that center on justice, equity, and community-driven solutions.

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Paper short abstract:

Drawing on lessons from a recent WHAF consultation on the role of diaspora within aid reform, noting calls for advocacy and addressing underlying issues. This piece explores what the sector purports to want to do, what it does, and its engagement, or lack thereof, with social justice movements.

Paper long abstract:

This submission is written in a fictionalised style, juxtaposing conversations between ´local´ call to actions and the solidarity of diasporas and social justice movements, alongside aid sector deliberations on reform, principles and practices. Its written in a crude and anecdotal way so as to enable directness whilst within the guise of fiction evades censorship constraints. Its also an attempt to grasp or understand these contradictions and what they mean for the sector, implying that the social movements we see unfolding, growing and sharpening, raise the stakes for the sectors relevance.

It is specifically concerned with reform agendas and the oft stated pursuit of localisation, asking fundamentally, if the aid sector were to seriously listen to what ´local´ (Global South) were calling for wouldn´t that be its undoing? Or was localisation always designed to be inclusive only of what could fit within the confines and constraints of humanitarianism?

It further speaks to the contradiction between the restrictive caution exercised by INGOs / humanitarian actors and the shifting and sharpening of narratives amongst grassroots movements and the role of diasporas (myself mixed white British and Indo-Guyanese) - particularly regarding western complicity / colonialism and capitalist and militaristic world orders, identified with on an ancestral level. Such arenas are operating side by side, yet one remains steadfast in its inward looking preservationist perspective. It is also about the contradiction between resource competition and solidarity, with a suggestion that solidarity based narratives and approaches counter competition and scarcity narratives.

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Paper short abstract:

Feminist foreign policy (FFP) is now claimed by key humanitarian donors, but whether/how it is shaping humanitarian policy and practice is unclear. This paper explores tensions between FFP and humanitarian principles and models, reflecting on prospects for “feminist” humanitarianism.

Paper long abstract:

As more countries adopt the banner of feminist foreign policy (FFP), there is growing debate around whether and how it is re-shaping power relations in international affairs. FFP is itself a nebulous political project, subject to internal division and criticism, but since 2014 it has nonetheless been espoused to varying degrees by the governments of Sweden, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain and Germany, with growing movements in many other countries. Notably, some of the states that lay claim to FFP are also core humanitarian donors, but the degree to which this purportedly “feminist” approach has fed through into humanitarian policy, practice and ways of working has received much less attention, either by advocates of FFP or humanitarian actors themselves.

Based on a review of existing research, policy documents and consultations with key actors in each setting, this paper will explore the intersection between FFP and humanitarian policy, with a particular focus on Canada, Sweden and Germany as key proponents of both. Along the way, it will ask key questions about what doing FFP looks like in the context of humanitarian policy, practice and culture, and what can be learned about the nature of foreign policy feminism and prospects for “feminist” humanitarianism.

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Since 2022, humanitarian observatories have been set up in DRC, Ethiopia, Latin America, South Asia and the Philippines, and more are formed in Namibia, Libya and Poland. They aim to reform humanitarianism in context. The paper argues the importance of these observatories and shares their insights.

Paper long abstract:

Humanitarian Observatories: reforming humanitarian governance from below.

Dorothea Hilhorst, Kaira Zoe Canete, Juan Aparicio Ricardo, Patrick Milabyo Kyamusugulwa, Tadesse Kassa Woldetsadik

Since 2022, humanitarian observatories have been set up in DRC, Ethiopia, Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia and the Philippines, and new observatories are being set up in Namibia, Lybia and Poland. These observatories review humanitarian action in the countries they’re located in and aim to contribute to humanitarian reform from below. This paper argues the importance of nationally-based observatories and share insights derived from the observatories.

Humanitarian governance is associated with many challenges related to the effectiveness of aid, accountability and trust, and the huge power imbalance between large humanitarian agencies and national aid providers, for example. The influence of actors from the countries that are mostly affected by crisis – recipients of aid, national aid providers and others – on these policies and debates is wanting.

International advocacy for improving the effectiveness of aid, accountability, and the role of national actors usually take place ats the global level. The humanitarian observatories want to turn this around and reform humanitarianism by creating spaces for actors affected by aid interventions to monitor these in the places where they are enacted. The observatories include representatives of affected communities, civil servants, members of civil society, and researchers from within and outside of academia.

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Paper short abstract:

Reconstruction efforts in conflict-affected countries are largely shaped by external stakeholders and interventions. This paper explores the potential contribution of displaced academics to reconstruction and recovery in conflict-affected contexts.

Paper long abstract:

The displacement of academics can impact their conflict-affected countries considerably, not only through the loss of human capital but also through the deterioration of intellectual and professional life of society at large. The reconstruction process in those countries has been arguably shaped by geopolitical contestations and neoliberal and Western agendas that might contradict the needs and aspirations of local communities. While the engagement of diasporic communities with their home countries has been largely explored, the potential contribution of displaced academics (DAs) to reconstruction, as encompassed within a broader concept of development (Suhrke, 2007), is overlooked. Drawing on longitudinal data obtained via an interview-diary-interview study design, and employing the Capability Approach, this paper explores the perceived and imagined contribution of 20 displaced Syrian academics to reconstruction in Syria. The paper offers a nuanced understanding of reconstruction from the local perspective of DAs and of the different forms of their potential engagement in this process. The paper argues that reconstruction efforts by DAs could be informally and individually enacted, without a formal affiliation with an organisation or institution, and also collectively as a diasporic community through networks. Displaced academics’ capabilities to contribute to reconstruction are conceptualised at three levels: for education, in education, and through education (in its different forms and stages). The study has implications for policy makers, local and international institutions, governments, and for other conflict-affected settings. It underscores the importance of supporting displaced academics individually and collectively as a community, to ensure meaningful and relevant reconstruction processes and outcomes.

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Paper short abstract:

Ebola outbreaks always trigger massive responses and principles to care for victims and prevent the spread. During the Ebola outbreak of 2018-2020 in Eastern Congo, conflict negatively impacted the response. This paper shows how this was overcome by introducing new methods of accountability.

Paper long abstract:

Outbreaks of the dreaded and deadly disease of Ebola always trigger immediate responses to care for victims and prevent the spreading of the disease. A recurring theme has been how the community's trust or a lack of trust in aid providers affects this response. The issue of trust is even more pertinent in cases of conflict.

This paper focuses on the Ebola outbreak of 2018-2020 in conflict-affected Eastern Congo. Drawing on empirical data from the perceptions of aid providers and affected communities, the paper critically analyzes how the Ebola response in Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, emerged by zooming in on how accountability and advocacy mechanisms shaped the trust between humanitarian actors and affected communities.

The findings show that conflict negatively impacted the Ebola response in Beni. The poor involvement of representatives of the affected community in advocacy and accountability mechanisms and the use of force in humanitarian actions created mistrust, which resulted in community resistance. To some extent, this was overcome by introducing new accountability methods.

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Paper short abstract:

As Russia’s war in Ukraine enters its third year, Ukrainian humanitarian leaders are pursuing social justice outcomes—particularly representing marginalised and vulnerable groups—while navigating the power imbalances and compliance requirements of the international humanitarian system.

Paper long abstract:

On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its years-long agitation in the region by invading Ukrainian territory. The resulting war—now approaching its third year—upturned life for all Ukrainians, many of whom found themselves providing urgent humanitarian assistance and crisis response within their own communities. This paper presents finding from interviews with active Ukrainian humanitarian and crisis leaders who are currently working in Ukraine to provide humanitarian and aid assistance at home. Based on 20 interviews with Ukrainian humanitarians, Ukrainian-language survey responses, and a desk review, this paper takes an ethnographic approach to bringing the voices of active Ukrainian crisis leaders to international academic and practitioner debates about agency and rights, localisation, and social justice in the humanitarian system. The paper outlines three main findings: first, Ukrainian-based and led organisations are pivotal to an equitable humanitarian response, particularly for marginalised and vulnerable populations who might otherwise be overlooked by international humanitarian response; second, localised leadership and decision-making agency also facilitate an effective, sustainable, and meaningful reconstruction phase (e.g. stable localised leadership can span the humanitarian-development nexus, particularly when the international humanitarian system inevitably withdraws funding); and finally, the international humanitarian system—while providing vital funding and assistance—simultaneously imposes an administrative and compliance burden that requires significant retraining and resourcing from local organisations to access and implement funds through local programming, which risks undermining the localisation agenda and perpetuating power structures and siloes within the system which are no longer-fit for-purpose.

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Paper short abstract:

Why and how is wealth redistribution reengineered in war-to-peace transitions? Mobilization strength and frames influence reforms, either by threatening elites' interests or showing distance capacity from conflict. This argument is tested by comparing Colombian 1982-2002 and 2012-2022 transitions.

Paper long abstract:

Political transitions are usually conceived of as the reworking of political incorporation of excluded actors. Yet transitions also reengineer prior wealth distribution. Between 1990 and 2021, 42 out of 84 civil war negotiated settlements address land reform, including land ownership, access to farming land and agricultural support for the rural poor, and property returns. Under which conditions is wealth redistribution forged from below in civil war political transitions? I argue that the strength and frames of mobilization shown by outsider, non-armed actors—e.g., rural-poor movements—drive land redistribution committed in settlements and carried on the ground. Deploying strategies and frames linked to underlying sources to conflict—what I call class-based, belligerent mobilization—, movements trigger land reform when mobilization can credibly put governments’ political legitimacy and economic elites’ agricultural enterprises at risk. Conversely, by employing strategies and frames connected to massive, gross rights violations—what I term reparation-based, rightful mobilization—, movements influence land reform when mobilization shows distancing capacity from rebellion and builds wide-reaching coalitions.

I probe my argument through a comparative historical analysis of two major war-to-peace transitions in Colombia during the 1982-2002 and 2012-2022 periods, explaining variation across time within cases and space along municipalities. I rely on a diverse data repertoire including original archives (e.g., clandestine documents and negotiation materials), participant observation, 110 in-depth interviews, and novel databases on rural-poor mobilization, social movements’ claims, and state-led land allocation collected during 12 months of fieldwork in several rural sites.

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Paper short abstract:

The article aims to develop a counter-cartography of the Sudan humanitarian crisis based on a collaborative workshop organized in Cairo with the Sudanese diaspora and through stories of resistance collected both within Sudan and in Egypt.

Paper long abstract:

On the 15th of Aprile 2023 the war is Sudan erupted with little signals about the magnitude of the current conflict. Since then, the conflict receive limited media coverage even more in western outlets and the impact of international humanitarian organizations has been really limited. Indeed, many humanitarian organization left the country or suspended their activities. The burden of the war has been on the shoulder of local grassroots organization, like the emergency response room and by the diaspora. This article aims to create a collaborative counter cartography of Sudan humanitarian crises by highlighting the agency of sudanese people and their geographies of resistance and care.

The work is based on a collective mapping workshop organize in Cairo with the Sudanese diaspora that aims to reflect on alternative network and geographies in humanitarian response beyond the role of humanitarian organizations in the frame of 'decolonizing aid'. Moreover, the articles is based on the collection of stories considering storytelling as a political act also by considering the visual aspect trough the use of video.