Paper short abstract:

This paper develops the concept of ‘humanitarian activist citizenship’ to analyse the work of grassroots organisations representing IDPs in Colombia. It contributes to the literature on humanitarianism by arguing that Colombian IDPs use humanitarian discourses to challenge their marginalisation.

Paper long abstract:

The critical literature on humanitarianism has long emphasised the disempowering and depoliticising effects such aid has on displaced populations and other recipients of assistance (Malkki 1996; Harrell-Bond 2002; Fassin 2009; Agier 2011; Ticktin 2016; Cabot 2019). Yet, a growing body of work has begun to highlight the agency that refugees, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and people on the move display when faced with humanitarian action (Feldman 2007; 2012; Holzer 2015; Olivius 2019; Jumbert and Pascucci 2021; Vandevoordt 2019). This paper builds on this literature by theorising the important role of humanitarian discourses and policies in facilitating collective action and resistance by humanitarian ‘subjects.’ It does so by developing the concept of ‘humanitarian activist citizenship, ’applying this to analyse the political work of grassroots organisations representing groups and individuals displaced within the context of Colombia’s civil conflict. In Colombia, the armed conflict has led to the forced migration of around 8 million IDPs. In response, self-identified IDPs and other victims of violence have formed organisations and staged protests to claim collective rights. Drawing on a narrative analysis of interviews conducted with members of IDP grassroots organisations in Bogotá between 2017 and 2018, and building on insights from the ‘acts of citizenship’ literature (Isin 2008), this paper argues that the political work of these organisations must be understood as a form of ‘humanitarian activist citizenship,’ through which groups and individuals victimised by violence in Colombia mobilise humanitarian policies and discourses to redefine the relations that exist between them and the state.