Suchergebnisse

The past decade has seen profound changes in the relationship between humanitarian and political action. The political determinants of humanitarian crises are now acknowledged, so too is their chronicity, and the limits of relief aid as a form of intervention are thus more fully understood. In 1994, in the refugee camps of Goma, Zaire, there was widespread manipulation of aid resources by armed groups implicated in the genocide in Rwanda. This experience highlighted a wider concern that, rather than doing good, emergency aid can fuel violence. The apparent consensus that humanitarian assistance can somehow stand outside politics gave way to calls for tighter linkage between aid and political responses to crises.

AbstractA global tendency towards increasing instability presents a challenge to the aid system. This paper examines international responses to one sub‐group of unstable situations: countries entering a period of post'‐conflict recovery. Focusing on the health sector, it argues that while the objectives of rehabilitation are framed with respect to macro‐level issues of political and economic stabilization, interventions comprise largely of uncoordinated micro‐level initiatives. This policy‐implementation gap is explained in relation to the context of weak states in transitional societies and the organization of international aid itself. It is suggested that a fundamental reappraisal of the objectives and instruments of relief and development is required in unstable situations.