Suchergebnisse

This article underlines the importance of grounding the analysis of humanitarian aid in an understanding of everyday practice. It presents ethnographic vignettes illustrating three aspects of aid response in Sri Lanka following the tsunami disaster in 2004. The authors discuss the need for a shift in current academic approaches, where discussions on humanitarian aid usually start from the level of principles rather than practice. (DSE/GIGA)

This article explores the rise of private authority in globalized disaster relief scenarios by looking at the case of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operatingin Aceh and its neighboring region, Nias, after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The author places the growing strength and presence of NGOs within the larger context of weak, cash-strapped local governments under decentralization schemes promoted by neoliberal economic policies and argues that under such conditions, private actors such as NGOs are gaining a legitimacy of authority once reserved exclusively for the state. In Aceh after the tsunami, five hundred NGOs began operating relief and recovery efforts on the island with little consultation with local Acehnese government agencies and community organizations. The article concludes by arguing that the example of Aceh, in which public and private parallel systems of relief and recovery have been operating raises long-term issues of accountability for all parties involved. (Crit Asian Stud/GIGA)