Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The Msf Experience - Couverture souple

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 1849041636 ISBN 13 : 9781849041638

Editeur : C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, 2011

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

'A controversial new book produced by one of the world's best-known aid agencies, Médecins sans Frontières, lifts the lid on the often deeply uncomfortable compromises aid organisations are forced to make while working in conflicts.' --Guardian

'This book challenges the perception that humanitarian organisations cannot speak or act freely and that their influence is on the wane.' --Law Society Journal

'Whilst MSF has acquired a reputation for speaking out on behalf of the victims of conflicts and disasters, this fascinating and timely book shows that this tradition, always rather ambiguously adhered to, is today very much under threat. Longstanding concerns that public declarations will jeopardise MSF's aid operations have now been supplemented by concerns that these declarations will add weight to calls for military intervention and for prosecutions in international courts, thereby further jeopardising MSF operations on the ground. Meanwhile, a range of governments in conflict-affected countries are reining in free speech through formal contracts with NGOs. Using a series of illuminating case studies, the book highlights the shifting dilemmas faced by aid workers. It brings out the perennial dangers of silence and stresses the continuing need to highlight the hidden victims of just wars (whether these are civil wars, Western wars, or both). The book also exemplifies MSF s traditions of self-criticism and internal disagreement, traditions that in an age of public relations and self-promotion are now more valuable than ever.' --David Keen, Professor of Conflict Studies, London School of Economics and Political Science

Présentation de l'éditeur

From international NGOs to UN agencies, from donors to observers of humanitarianism, opinion is unanimous: in a context of the alleged 'clash of civilizations', our 'humanitarian space' is shrinking. Put in another way, the freedom of action and of speech of humanitarians is being eroded due to the radicalization of conflicts and to the reaffirmation of state sovereignty over aid actors and policies. The purpose of this book is to challenge this assumption through the analysis of the events that have marked MSF s history since 2003 (when MSF published its first general work on humanitarian action and its relationships with governments). It addresses the evolution of humanitarian goals, the resistance to these goals and the political arrangements that overcame this resistance (or that failed to do so). The contributors seek to analyze the political transactions and balances of power and interests that allow aid activities to move forward, but that are usually masked by the lofty rhetoric of humanitarian principles . They focus on one key question: what is an acceptable compromise for MSF. This book seeks to puncture a number of the myths that have grown up over the last forty years since MSF was founded and describes in detail how the ideals of humanitarian principles and 'humanitarian space' to operate in conflict zones are in reality illusory. How in fact it is the grubby negotiations with varying parties, each of whom have their own vested interests, that may allow organisations such as MSF to operate in a given crisis situation or not

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd
• Date d'édition: 2011
• ISBN 10: 1849041636
• ISBN 13: 9781849041638
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 256
• Éditeur: Magone Claire, Neuman Michael, Weissman Fabrice