Alasdair Gordon-Gibson – författare

Fully revised and updated in its third edition, this timely book brings together the study of conflict and war and the problems surrounding the economic development of developing societies that are most prone to experiencing problems in moving on after war.The book does so by reflecting on the issues surrounding war as it unfolds and after it has (in principle) ‘ended’, within the context of the history, present-day problems and future prospects. The book aims to highlight the possibilities, successes and failures of past and present policies that bring ‘development’ to countries and peoples that want to be more involved in deciding their own futures after conflict and war, and often find themselves subject to what can be seen as arbitrary and even alien ways of thinking and acting by institutions in which they theoretically have membership and agency but often do not in practice. The case studies have been fully updated to reflect changes and developments since the second edition of this text, and there are questions at the end of each chapter to promote reflection. This new edition presents a deeper dive into the history of conflict and the emergence of new theories and policy guidance about present and future options in the fields of conflict and development.Accessible and engaging, this textbook is a pivotal resource for a nexus of subjects related to the often separated fields of conflict and development studies, as well as practitioners in this area.

Fully revised and updated in its third edition, this timely book brings together the study of conflict and war and the problems surrounding the economic development of developing societies that are most prone to experiencing problems in moving on after war.The book does so by reflecting on the issues surrounding war as it unfolds and after it has (in principle) ‘ended’, within the context of the history, present-day problems and future prospects. The book aims to highlight the possibilities, successes and failures of past and present policies that bring ‘development’ to countries and peoples that want to be more involved in deciding their own futures after conflict and war, and often find themselves subject to what can be seen as arbitrary and even alien ways of thinking and acting by institutions in which they theoretically have membership and agency but often do not in practice. The case studies have been fully updated to reflect changes and developments since the second edition of this text, and there are questions at the end of each chapter to promote reflection. This new edition presents a deeper dive into the history of conflict and the emergence of new theories and policy guidance about present and future options in the fields of conflict and development.Accessible and engaging, this textbook is a pivotal resource for a nexus of subjects related to the often separated fields of conflict and development studies, as well as practitioners in this area.

The book examines the reasons behind accusations of dysfunctional humanitarian identities and the loss of space for impartial action. Through a combination of practical examples in case studies from the field with a theoretical and philosophical approach to questions of voluntary service, community and identity, it reconsiders the exceptional discourse that constructs these identities and drives humanitarian response in environments of complex emergency. By recognizing both the strength and the limits of its social and political agency, the study presents opportunities for the construction of a less exceptional space, or ‘niche’ within the humanitarian sector, where the politics is around one of an ordinary humanitarian society instead of an ordered humanitarian system.