From Arrow to Path: International Relations Theory and the Humanitarian Space

Abstract

Mathew Davies, �From Arrow to Path: International Relations Theory and the Humanitarian Space�, in Michele Acuto, ed., Negotiating Relief: The Politics of Humanitarian Space, London: Hurst, 2014, pp. 211-20. The relationship between international relations theorising and humanitarianism is not an arrow that points in one direction. Instead, it is a path that can be travelled in either direction. International relations theorising benefits from studying humanitarianism, but by appreciating the arguments about the motives and interests of actors so that humanitarians can benefit from theory.