POL3879

Over the last two centuries the international community established a set of humanitarian norms, principles, and institutions designed to alleviate the suffering and improve the welfare of vulnerable populations. Humanitarianism—the efforts undertaken to relieve suffering for those displaced by war, human rights violations, climate change, and other disasters— has undergone significant development and transformation, with the expansion and institutionalization of humanitarian action now accepted as a normal part of global politics.

Humanitarian organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross or Doctors without Borders, are expected to be on the ground in situations of violence and disaster, with humanitarians leading the emergency responses. Their successes and failures inform not only our sense of what humanitarianism is, or what humanitarians do, but the life and death of those individuals whom they are sent to assist.

Thus, this course engages the questions of what does it mean to claim humanitarianism, to do humanitarian work, and to be a humanitarian? We will take a historical approach to the rise of humanitarianism and trace its subjects and actors from the early 19th century to today, as one way of gaining purchase on these questions and to chart the practical, political, and ethical issues intrinsic to the promotion and legitimacy of humanitarianism.

Students in this course will develop a better understanding of the current themes and debates in the field of humanitarianism, including the decolonization of aid and aid organizations, the relationship of humanitarian aid and military might, the professionalization of humanitarianism and the attendant issues of accountability to vulnerable populations. This course will also analyze the successes and failures of humanitarianism through both historical and contemporary examples.