Charity has been a part of human society since the beginning of civilization. It was a simple and easily understood concept: those who have more give some of their wealth to those who have less. Humanitarianism describes this personal level of voluntary aid to lessen the suffering of others, be that as a result of systemic poverty or of natural or man-made disasters. Unless the humanitarian crisis is close to home, the individual's commitment to help is channeled through a myriad of aid organizations operating in the affected region or country. Complementing the work of international agencies (UN, Red Cross, NGOs) is the CHARITY OF NATIONS: governments directly engaged with the other players in the "humanitarian enterprise". However, governments do not operate selflessly. While, their main responsibility is for the well being of their citizens, they may be very reluctant to have "outsiders" interfere in their affairs. In the donor countries foreign policy interests always intrude on their humanitarian response to emergencies. As a result the simple concept of charity has become highly complex in modern times.
Smillie and Minear present a thorough and substantial analysis of the multifaceted issues that drive humanitarian assistance. They reflect on the changes in the relief, aid and emergency "business" since the Cold War. They discuss in some depth the new approach used since 9/11: increasingly, humanitarian demands are being balanced with security concerns. Other novel trends, they explain, are the increasing commercialization of aid delivery and the difficult relationships between military personnel and aid agencies. The definition of aid agencies as "an extension of security forces", promoted by the US administration in Afghanistan and Iraq, has exposed humanitarian aid workers to more dangers than ever before. For many, it has put into question the NGOs' claim for neutrality as they operate among the different sides of the conflict and the essential non-political character of humanitarian aid in all circumstances. On the other hand, aid agencies have not only become executing agents for official government aid programs, they also rely on the increased security maintained by the military in crisis countries.
The authors offer detailed case studies of humanitarian crises, such as Sierra Leone, East Timor and Afghanistan, to exemplify the range of responses by the international players. They expose the wide ranging difficulties experienced in each scenario. Summarizing the divergence between assertions and practical applications, they identify systemic problems in the humanitarian enterprise as it is currently implemented. All players, whether governments, UN agencies or NGOs, they each have their own approaches and perspectives, the authors state. They even vary in their definition of the commonly accepted humanitarian principles. For the recipient governments this multitude of actors is highly confusing. Such confusion, among other reasons, is leading to mistrust and antipathy. Often it seems that, in particular, the local NGOs are overlooked by the international actors. Those groups, though, "for all their weaknesses offer the best long-term hope, also in terms of prevention", assert the authors.
Three levels of emergencies are being distinguished, with the first level receiving extensive attention and support worldwide, such as Afghanistan, Iraq or the very recent Asian emergency following the tsunami. The second level is treated with a modest, often lingering response and describes most of the "traditional" humanitarian crises. The third level can also be termed "the forgotten" disaster or emergency. Many African crises, whether as a result of natural or man-made disasters, fall into this last category. Unless the country is strategically important to donor countries or attracts media attention, or is just "lucky", very little humanitarian assistance and support will be forthcoming. The authors observe that non-government international aid agencies, themselves dependent on donor contributions in their home country, are also limited in the range and level of support they can offer unless the emergency moves into the media limelight, which the authors term "the CNN moment". One can name the Ethiopia famine in the 1980s as one such example.
The authors criticize the weaknesses of the international humanitarian system that allows such uneven response to human disasters. The right to humanitarian assistance should be consistently and equally applied across the globe. They argue in favour of a new humanitarian crisis management system with a "strengthened multilateral core" and agreed upon guidelines and principles. Such as system would move towards a new way of financing the response to humanitarian crisis as well as the fundamental next steps of reconstruction and development. They stress that monitoring effectiveness and accountability will have to become essential components of future aid delivery.
Smillie's and Minear's study, based on years of research and field work by the authors and the "Humanitarianism and War Project", extensive interviews with many players from diverse relevant agencies, represents a major contribution to the necessary debate on "Humanitarian Action in a Calculating World", the subtitle of the book. Despite the difficult and at times technical subject matter, it is written in clear language that is accessible to the interested non-specialist reader. The book is a must for all those engaged at any level with international humanitarian action, policy makers and practitioners. Those concerned with improved systems for sharing resources and expertise between the richer and the poorer countries will find the proposals for increased accountability and monitoring the effectiveness of humanitarian assistance thought provoking and compelling. Detailed notes, relevant statistics and a selected bibliography assist the further research. [Friederike Knabe]
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