Current course offerings

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Course description

The course examines the genealogy of humanitarianism, exploring the evolution and global diffusion of humanitarian concepts and practices, and how this has created an international humanitarian architecture. We explore the roles played by different actors in humanitarian action, including not only international organization and NGOs, but also states, Faith Based organizations, and the private sector. We ask why do they act? How do they act? Who do they help? And how does the evolution of these actors and structures intersect with power in world politics? In the second section of the course we look in detail at the dilemmas and paradoxes of humanitarian action presented by different forms of crises. This includes looking at issues such as the politics of international law, the politics of disaster, the politics of complex emergencies, the politics of displacement, and the politics of transnational crises. In exploring these issues, we will focus on particular on examples of crises in the Asia Pacific region.

Archived offerings