Humanitarianism in the Modern World : the moral economy of famine relief / Norbert Götz, Georgina Brewis, Steffen Werther.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Götz, Norbert, author.

Werther, Steffen, author.

Brewis, Georgina, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

International relief.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xiv, 355 pages)

Other Title:

Humanitarianism in the Modern World

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, United Kingdom : Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Summary:

"The book takes a fresh look at humanitarian action through the concept of moral economy. It suggests a revised periodisation of humanitarianism by analogy to politico-economic regimes, rather than geopolitical sequencing: moving from ad hoc humanitarianism (c. 1800-1900); to organised humanitarianism (c. 1900-70); and expressive humanitarianism (since c. 1970). It moves the focus of the history of humanitarianism from the imperatives of crisis management in the outside world to pragmatic mechanisms of fundraising, relief efforts on the ground, and accounting, thus correlating their history with that of voluntary action and broader societal trends. The cases moreover provide new insights into the history of three humanitarian causes. The study of Irish famine relief in the 1840s redetermines the origins of the major British relief campaign. The study on Soviet famine relief in the 1920s provides a broader perspective than previous organisation-based studies and identifies similarities among competing ethnic, religious, political, and national relief cultures. Our analysis of the famine in Ethiopia of the 1980s is one of the few historical examinations of transnational food aid during that disaster that draws on newly-available archival sources"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction 1. Famine relief in perspective. 1.1. Social origins of famine ; 1.2. The moral economy of aid 2. Case studies. 2.1. Three ages of humanitarianism ; 2.2. The great Irish famine and ad hoc humanitarianism ; 2.3. The Russian famine of 1921-3 and organised humanitarianism ; 2.4. Famine in Ethiopia 1984-6 and expressive humanitarianism 3. Appeals. 3.1. The humanitarian appeal ; 3.2. Empire, faith, and kinship : Ireland ; 3.3. Altruism, self-interest, and solidarity : Soviet Russia ; 3.4. Television, shame, and global humanity : ethiopia ; 3.5. Arousing compassion : a long view on calls for famine relief 4. Allocation. 4.1. Allocating gifts ; 4.2. Fostering local efforts : Ireland ; 4.3. Live and let die : Soviet Russia ; 4.4. Relief, rehabilitation, and resettlement : Ethiopia ; 4.5. Targeting aid : realities on the ground across two centuries 5. Accounting. 5.1. Humanitarian accountability ; 5.2. Figures, narratives, and omissions : Ireland ; 5.3. The power of numbers : Soviet Russia ; 5.4. More than 'dollars' and 'per cent' : Ethiopia ; 5.5. Keeping the record : a bicentennial perspective Conclusion : the moral economy of humanitarianism.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.