Political economy of the humanitarian actions

Abstract

The political economy of the humanitarian is a new or a very old concept. On the one hand, if we have the main reference of the “humanitarian interventions” such as they were applied these last decades, there is no specific analysis of political economy on the question. On the other hand, if we introduce the concept of “humanitarian missions,” this one is already more ancient, but not older of two centuries. However, “humanitarian interventions” must not be mixed up with “humanitarian missions.” The first are military actions against a State to protect people within its borders from suffering grave harms. The second are peaceful actions and economic decisions to protect the life of victims of war, internal violence, natural or technologic disasters….¹ Thus, there are two “political economies of the humanitarian,” expressed both in the civil and military fields.

Citation

Fontanel, J. and Geslin, A. (2008), "Political economy of the humanitarian actions", Fontanel, J. and Chatterji, M. (Ed.) War, Peace and Security (Contributions to Conflict Management, Peace Economics and Development, Vol. 6), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 215-233. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1572-8323(08)06013-X