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The modern global humanitarian system takes the form it does because it is underpinned by liberal world order. Now the viability of global liberal institutions is increasingly in doubt, a backlash against humanitarianism (and human rights) has gained momentum. I will argue that without liberal world order, global humanitarianism as we currently understand it is impossible, confronting humanitarians with an existential choice: how might they function in a world which doesn’t have liberal institutions at its core? The version of global humanitarianism with which we are familiar might not survive this transition, but maybe other forms of humanitarian action will emerge. What comes next might not meet the hopes of today’s humanitarians, however. The humanitarian alliance with liberalism is no accident, and if the world is less liberal, its version of humanitarian action is likely to be less liberal too. Nevertheless, humanitarianism will fare better than its humanist twin, human rights, in this new world.
seriously the stories humanitarians tell about themselves and their work. This interview hopes to build on and contribute to this research by talking to two humanitarians who have published memoirs: Professor Tony Redmond OBE and Gareth Owen OBE. Tony Redmond’s book Frontline: Saving Lives in War, Disaster and Disease was published in 2021 by HarperNorth and Gareth Owen’s book When the Music’s Over: Intervention, Aid and Somalia will be published in June 2022 by Repeater Books. They were interviewed by Róisín Read. Róisín Read (RR): Could you briefly introduce
, the collapse of the Soviet Union represented a final victory for Western liberal democracy – an unexpected Hegelian denouement in the knotweed of History. Their euphoria – albeit short-lived – provided the entrance music for a new ethical order, constructed by the US, with a basis in liberal humanitarian norms. Without any direct and immediate threat to its hegemony, the US merged its geostrategy with a humanitarian ethics. In 1991, after the Gulf War, the US invaded Iraq in the name of humanitarian concern. The following year, to the
’, in Bunce , M. , Franks , S. and Paterson , C. (eds), Africa’s Media Image in the 21st Century: From the ‘Heart of Darkness’ to ‘Africa Rising’ ( London : Routledge ), pp. 129 – 31 . Barthes , R. ( 1977 ), Image/Music/Text ( New York : Hill and Wang ). Bunce , M. , Scott , M. and Wright , K. ( forthcoming ), ‘ Humanitarian Journalism ’, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies ( Oxford : Oxford University Press
, K4D Emerging Issues Report 33 ( Brighton, UK : Institute of Development Studies ). Hopgood , S. ( 2019 ), ‘ When the Music Stops: Humanitarianism in a Post-Liberal World Order ’, Journal of Humanitarian Affairs , 1 : 1 , 4 – 14
capitalized on negative and positive emotions. Adding sound to the animated picture (piano music, verbal accounts of humanitarian workers during screenings), the whole cinematic set-up was intended to allow a more intimate contact with suffering and trauma and thus transformed the film-viewing into a sensory experience: The Manchester Guardian said … ‘most of the audience probably already knew a good deal about what is happening in the famine district, but the pictures [from the movie] shocked them’.… Terrible as this pictorial representation of the ravages of famine is
Billboard magazine’s top five places. 2 Through their recordings, movies, live performances, and other public utterances and appearances, the Beatles had a profound effect on American culture and society throughout the 1960s. Cultural exchange has, of course, long been a facet of Anglo-American relations. In the twentieth century, cultural flows tended to travel predominantly from west to east, reflecting the dominance of the United States in new popular forms such as motion pictures and popular music. 3 The traffic was never one way, however. The development of
the pursuit of peace and uncovering how dance and music are globally recognised as important to the creation and expression of culture and in facilitating social cohesion. Recognising this, the chapter considers theories and practices of dance and peacebuilding alongside relevant key concepts, such as embodiment and empathy, in order to provide context for exploring dance and peacebuilding. We argue for recognising the important role of dance in encouraging diverse forms of communication, building relationships across difference and engaging the
This collection interrogates the representation of humanitarian crisis and catastrophe, and the refraction of humanitarian intervention and action, from the mid-twentieth century to the present, across a diverse range of media forms: traditional and contemporary screen media (film, television and online video) as well as newspapers, memoirs, music festivals and social media platforms (such as Facebook, YouTube and Flickr). The book thus explores the historical, cultural and political contexts that have shaped the mediation of humanitarian relationships since the middle of the twentieth century. Together, the chapters illustrate the continuities and connections, as well as the differences, which have characterised the mediatisation of both states of emergency and acts of amelioration. The authors reveal and explore the significant synergies between the humanitarian enterprise, the endeavour to alleviate the suffering of particular groups, and media representations, and their modes of addressing and appealing to specific publics. The chapters consider the ways in which media texts, technologies and practices reflect and shape the shifting moral, political, ethical, rhetorical, ideological and material dimensions of international humanitarian emergency and intervention, and have become integral to the changing relationships between organisations, institutions, governments, individual actors and entire sectors.
The Arab–Israeli conflict has been at the centre of international affairs for decades. Despite repeated political efforts, the confrontation and casualties continue, especially in fighting between Israelis and Palestinians. This new assessment emphasizes the role that military force plays in blocking a diplomatic resolution. Many Arabs and Israelis believe that the only way to survive or to be secure is through the development, threat, and use of military force and violence. This idea is deeply flawed and results in missed diplomatic opportunities and growing insecurity. Coercion cannot force rivals to sign a peace agreement to end a long-running conflict. Sometimes negotiations and mutual concessions are the key to improving the fate of a country or national movement. Using short historical case studies from the 1950s through to today, the book explores and pushes back against the dominant belief that military force leads to triumph while negotiations and concessions lead to defeat and further unwelcome challenges. In The sword is not enough, we learn both what makes this idea so compelling to Arab and Israeli leaders and how it eventually may get dislodged.