Humanitarianism in Question

Michael Barnett is Harold Stassen Chair of International Affairs at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and Professor of Political Science at the University of Minnesota. He is the author of Eyewitness to a Genocide, coauthor of Rules for the World, and coeditor of Identity and Foreign Policy in the Middle East, all from Cornell. Thomas G. Weiss is Presidential Professor of Political Science and Director of the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, the Graduate Center, CUNY. He is the author of many books, including Humanitarian Intervention and Internal Displacement.

This is a superb survey of the rise and challenges of international humanitarianism assistance. The book chronicles the remarkable post-Cold War emergence of a global system of humanitarian relief—a system complete with doctrines, organizations, and extensive field operations. But it is also a system under stress, working increasingly with little guidance or support in war-torn societies.... The authors in this collection step back from these developments to ask first-order questions about the purposes and principles of humanitarianism.... This book will long be an essential guide to the theory and politics of global humanitarianism.- G. John Ikenberry (Foreign Affairs)

• List of Abbreviations1. Humanitarianism: A Brief History of the Present - MICHAEL BARNETT AND THOMAS G. WEISS2. The Rise of Emergency Relief Aid - JAMES D. FEARON3. The Imperative to Reduce Suffering: Charity, Progress, and Emergencies in the Field of Humanitarian Action - CRAIG CALHOUN4. Saying "No" to Wal-Mart? Money and Morality in Professional Humanitarianism - STEPHEN HOPGOOD5. Humanitarian Organizations: Accountable-Why, to Whom, for What, and How? - JANICE GROSS STEIN6. The Grand Strategies of Humanitarianism - MICHAEL BARNLTT AND JACK SNYDER7. The Power of Holding Humanitarianism in Hostage and the Myth of Protective Principles - LAURA HAMMOND8. Sacrifice, Triage, and Global Humanitarianism - PETER REDFIELD9. The Distributive Commitments of International NGOs - JENNIFER C. RUBENSTEIN10. Humanitarianism as a Scholarly Vocation - MICHAEL BARNETT11. Humanitarianism and Practitioners: Social Science Matters - PETER J. HOFFMAN AND THOMAS G. WEISSContributorsIndex