Evolving Humanitarianism
The Work of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
Summary
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Table of Contents
- List of main abbreviations and acronyms
- Introduction
- Chapter 1. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: Structure, functioning and modus operandi
- 1.1. “Three in one:” The components of the Movement
- 1.1.1. The International Committee of the Red Cross
- 1.1.2. National Societies
- 1.1.3. International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
- 1.2. Decision-making in the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
- 1.2.1. The Statutes
- 1.2.2. The International Conference
- 1.2.3. The Council of Delegates
- 1.2.4. The Standing Commission
- 1.2.5. The General Assembly
- 1.3. Cooperation, coordination, and competition in the Movement
- 1.3.1. Agenda for Red Cross and its impact on the Movement
- 1.3.2. Collective response of the Movement: The Seville Agreement and its revision
- 1.3.3. Working better together: A Strategy for the Movement and the “SMCC” process
- 1.4. The modus operandi of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
- 1.4.1. The Fundamental Principles
- 1.4.2. The distinctive emblems
- 1.4.3. The Movement logo
- Chapter 2. Humanitarian assistance in contemporary international relations
- 2.1. Current trends influencing provision of humanitarian assistance
- 2.1.1. Trends and factors related to the external environment
- 2.1.2. Trends and factors internal to the humanitarian sector
- 2.2. The expanding scope of humanitarian assistance
- 2.3. Linking humanitarian and development assistance
- 2.3.1. First and second-generation debates
- 2.3.2. Third generation debate: the concept of resilience
- 2.3.3. Humanitarian-development-peace nexus
- 2.3.4. Benefits and challenges in linking thinking
- Chapter 3. International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in Action: Departing from an ideal-typical humanitarianism?
- 3.1. Humanitarian assistance in armed conflict
- 3.1.1. Legal basis
- 3.1.2. Required conditions and encountered challenges
- 3.1.3. Geographic and thematic scope
- 3.2. Humanitarian assistance in natural disasters
- 3.2.1. Legal basis
- 3.2.2. Conditions required and challenges encountered
- 3.2.3. Geographic and thematic scope
- 3.3. Long-term services and peacetime work
- 3.4. The Movement and the humanitarian-development-peace nexus: Building resilient communities
- Chapter 4. Expanding humanitarianism from an operational perspective
- 4.1. The Norwegian Red Cross: Addressing humanitarian needs in Norway and abroad
- 4.2. The Colombian Red Cross and humanitarian challenges in the post-conflict situation
- 4.3. The ICRC’s “deep engagement” with needs: experiences from Syria and Yemen
- Conclusions
- Bibliography
- List of tables
- Annex
- Index of Names
- Series Index
List of main abbreviations and acronyms
AAP |
Accountability to Affected Populations |
ALNAP |
Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance |
AP I |
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I) |
AP II |
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts (Protocol II) |
AP III |
Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Adoption of an Additional Distinctive Emblem (Protocol III) |
CCW |
the United National Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons |
CERF |
the Central Emergency Response Fund |
CHS |
the Core Humanitarian Standard on Quality and Accountability |
CVA |
Cash and Voucher Programming |
DFID |
the UK’s Department for International Development |
DREF |
the Disaster Relief Emergency Fund |
DRR |
Disaster Risk Reduction |
DSG |
the ICRC’s Donor Support Group |
ECHO |
the Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations |
ERU |
Emergency Response Health Unit |
ERWs |
explosive remnants of war |
EU |
the European Union |
FDRS |
the Federation-wide Databank and Reporting System |
GC I |
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field |
GC II |
Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea |
GC III |
Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War |
GC IV |
Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Population in Times of War |
HAP |
the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership |
HCiD |
Health Care in Danger |
HFA |
|
HNS |
host National Society |
HPG |
Humanitarian Policy Group |
IAC |
international armed conflict |
IASC |
the Inter-Agency Standing Committee |
IC |
International Conference of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent |
ICG |
Informal Consultation Group |
ICRC |
the International Committee of the Red Cross |
IDMC |
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre |
IFRC |
the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies |
IHL |
international humanitarian law |
IHRL |
international human rights law |
IOM |
the International Organization for Migration |
IRA |
Inclusive Response Approach |
LAWS |
Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems |
LRRD |
linking relief, rehabilitation, and development |
MDA |
the Magen David Adom |
MSF |
Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) |
NATO |
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (also the North Atlantic Alliance) |
NGO |
non-governmental organization |
NIAC |
non-international armed conflict |
NIIHA |
neutral, impartial, and independent humanitarian action |
NORAD |
the Norwegian Development Agency |
NSD |
National Society Development |
OCHA |
the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
ODI |
the Overseas Development Institute |
PNS |
participating National Society |
RCRC |
the Red Cross and the Red Crescent |
RFL |
restoring family links |
SAF |
the Safer Access Framework |
SARC |
the Syrian Arab Red Crescent |
SAVE |
the Secure Access in Volatile Environments |
SDGs |
the Sustainable Development Goals |
SGBV |
sexual and gender-based violence |
SHCC |
Safeguarding Health in Conflict Coalition |
SMCC |
Strengthening Movement Cooperation and Coordination |
UN |
|
UNDP |
the United Nations Development Programme |
UNHABITAT |
the United National Human Settlements Programme |
UNHCR |
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees |
UNISDR |
the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction |
USAID |
the United States Agency for International Development |
WASH |
water, hygiene, and sanitation |
WHO |
the World Health Organization |
WHS |
the World Humanitarian Summit |
WSS |
Water supply and sanitation |
WWI |
the First World War |
WWII |
the Second World War |
1BC |
the One Billion Coalition for Resilience |
Introduction
Every day we are faced with the information about the new or deteriorating crises generating enormous human cost. In the midst of these crises, it is not uncommon to observe the Red Cross and the Red Crescent emblems and the dedicated staff and volunteers seeking to relive some of the suffering. Emergency response at local, national, and international levels is probably something that the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (hereinafter, RCRC Movement, Movement) is the most well-known for. Still, this is not the only type of activity that it is engaged in. What is then the overall scope of the Movement’s work? When is it implemented and who is benefitting from it? How are the different components of the RCRC Movement working together, considering that it comprises a global network of 192 National Societies?1 This is the first set of questions that this work addresses, given that the overall scope of the Movement’s humanitarian response (and its evolution) has largely escaped academic scrutiny thus far.
The secondary objective of this book is to contribute to the scholarship on organizations in international relations. Following in the footsteps of Michael Barnett and Martha Finnemore and similar constructivist approaches, I base my overall analysis on the assumption that organizations are autonomous actors in international relations, and they may exercise authority. Although the authority of international organizations is different in kind than that of states, it still allows them to influence the international agenda or the behaviour of states and other actors.2 Furthermore, similarly to states, organizations adapt to challenges and changes in their internal and external environment. What remains to be answered is why organizations behave they do. Against this background, this book will explore the main drivers behind the Movement’s engagement in emergency and non-emergency response.
←15 | 16→Main working assumptions: hypotheses and research questions
As the main purpose of this study is to understand and account for the evolution in the humanitarian work of the Movement, I have identified three research questions that will guide my analysis throughout this book:
• Under what circumstances, and how do the different components of the Movement, combine humanitarian and development assistance in their work?
• What are the implications (for the Movement) of broadening the scope of humanitarian response, including though linking humanitarian and development assistance?
• What is the main rationale behind driving the decisions of the components of the Movement in this regard? To what extent are they driven by norms and ideas embedded in the organizational culture, and to what extent are such decisions better explained by appealing to strategic calculations and organizational survival?
Therefore, I will seek to verify the following hypothesis:
Despite its humanitarian origins, focusing on preventing the loss of life and alleviating human suffering in times of an armed conflict, the scope of the Movement’s action has been gradually evolving towards an all-encompassing conception of humanitarianism. This tendency cannot be sufficiently explained only by referring to the humanitarian imperative and similar ideas and norms.
Methodology: theoretical framework and research methods employed
Given the focus of this study, I have decided to rely my analysis on rationalism and constructivism that constitute the dominating methodological positions in international relations.3 My choice is determined by the fact that both of them aim provide an answer to the question about what determines the behaviour of participants in international relations (in this work, humanitarian organizations above all). The author will use the technique initiated by the Hungarian philosopher and mathematician Imre Lakatos, who constructed a so-called a triangular ring (a three-cornered fight) that allows to test and apply the two competing approaches in the field of international relations, i.e., positivist rationalism and ←16 | 17→post-positivist constructivism, to study an empirical phenomenon of the changing nature of the Movement’ humanitarian response.4
Details
- Pages
- 286
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9783631890455
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9783631891728
- ISBN (Hardcover)
- 9783631890448
- DOI
- 10.3726/b20280
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2022 (November)
- Keywords
- humanitarianism aid sector development resilience humanitarian-development-peace nexus
- Published
- Berlin, Bern, Bruxelles, New York, Oxford, Warszawa, Wien, 2022. 286 pp., 5 tables.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG
