GPPi publishes book chapter on emerging and traditional donors in humanitarian assistance
GPPi’s Andrea Binder, Alexander Gaus and Claudia Meier have contributed a chapter to a new German-language book on humanitarian assistance, published in August 2013 and titled Handbuch Humanitäre Hilfe: Theorie und Praxis des Helfens in Gewaltkonflikten und Naturkatastrophen
(Humanitarian Aid Handbook: Theory and Practice of Helping in Violent Conflicts and Natural Disasters).
In their chapter, Binder, Gaus and Meier discuss the state of the art of global humanitarian assistance, examining the inputs, aims and norms of both established and emerging donors.
They argue that the global power shift in international relations has also impacted humanitarian assistance. Goods, services and financial resources to help people affected by war and disaster are no longer just a gesture of solidarity from the West. Brazil, India, the Gulf States, Turkey and other governments have joined the ranks of globally acting humanitarian donors.
While the increase in and diversification of donors present an opportunity, they also introduce new challenges: Ideas over how and why to deliver assistance differ greatly between countries. To assure the long-term success of humanitarian assistance, idea exchange between all donors is imperative. Cooperation often stalls, however, due to mutual ignorance about each other’s interests as well as mutual suspicion.
The authors break with conventional wisdom that there is antagonism between donors who are “emerging” or “traditional.” Instead, they show that cleavages have begun to run across the camps, not necessarily between them. How long a donor has been active does not influence whether humanitarian assistance is based on the humanitarian principles – humanity, neutrality, independence and impartiality – or used as a tool to achieve other foreign policy goals.
After providing a brief analysis of the humanitarian behavior of a number of traditional donors (USA, European Commission, United Kingdom, France and Sweden) and emerging ones (Saudi-Arabia, United Arab Emirates, India, Brazil, China and Turkey), the chapter discusses their commonalities and differences. Analyzing the level and type of humanitarian assistance provided, the goals attached to the provision of aid and its normative underpinnings, the authors conclude with outlining the trends for the future of the humanitarian system.
A German version of the book chapter is available for purchase on the website of the publisher, Springer.