The Wider Impact of Humanitarian Assistance

This contribution examines various aspects of humanitarian assistance, ranging from the particular case of Sudan to a general perspective on the conditionality, mandates and political economy of humanitarian aid.

 

Sudan, like many other developing countries, has been the scene of numerous humanitarian crises over the last decade which the international community has tried to alleviate by providing aid. There is now general agreement that such assistance can have negative as well as positive effects for the intended beneficiaries, for example by prolonging their suffering when aid is diverted to combatants. This realisation has great implications for the European Union, the largest provider of international aid, and in particular for its humanitarian aid agency, the European Humanitarian Office (ECHO).

 

Each chapter in this volume examines one aspect of this problem, ranging from an analysis of the particular historical background of the famines in Sudan, to more general themes from the field of humanitarian assistance such as conditionality, mandates and the political economy. The concluding chapter advises international organisations on how to change not only their practices, but also the principles and policies behind their assistance.

 

The eight contributions were written by academic experts from across Europe and practitioners with first-hand experience of Sudan and humanitarian aid in general.