HONR 2047 Final

1. A theme running through many of the readings is that humanitarianism might do more harm than good. Do you agree?

• Humanitarianism can save lives, but also reinforce harmful structures
  
  

• Aid can stabilize unjust political or economic systems rather than change them
  
  

• Power imbalances (Global North over Global South) reproduce dependency
  
  

• Harm increases when neutrality, impartiality, and independence are compromised
  
  

Best answer: it depends on context, structure, and constraints

2. What is the difference between refugees and Internally Displaced People (IDPs)? Are asylum seekers the same as refugees? Where do migrants fit?

• Refugees: forced to flee persecution or conflict and cross an international border
  
  

• IDPs: forced to flee but remain within their country’s borders
  
  

• Asylum seekers: individuals seeking refugee status; not yet legally recognized
  
  

• Migrants: move for varied reasons (often economic); not automatically protected by refugee law
  
  

Key distinction: border crossing + legal protection regime

3. Describe the rights of a refugee as determined by the Refugee Convention. How do states deter refugees in order to suppress these rights?

• Refugee Convention provides protection from refoulement and access to basic rights
  
  

• States deter refugees to avoid legal, political, and financial obligations
  
  

• Deterrence methods:
  
  

  • Detention and restrictive asylum procedures
    
    

  • Externalization (third-country processing, border outsourcing)
    
    

  • Narrowing eligibility and delaying claims
    
    

• Result: rights exist formally but are inaccessible in practice

4. Has the decline of the liberal international order harmed humanitarianism?

• Liberal international order supported multilateral humanitarian norms and institutions
  
  

• Decline leads to:
  
  

  • More nationalism and sovereignty-first policies
    
    

  • Increased politicization of aid
    
    

  • Shrinking space for NGOs
    
    

Humanitarian norms become weaker and more contested

5. Who are the actors in the humanitarian field? What is the Humanitarian Club and who is a member? What evidence do you see of superiority and inferiority?

• Actors include:
  
  

  • UN agencies, INGOs, local NGOs, states, donors, corporations, militaries
    
    

• Humanitarian Club:
  
  

  • Dominant actors controlling funding, standards, and legitimacy
    
    

• Evidence of hierarchy:
  
  

  • Decision-making centralized in large Western institutions
    
    

  • Local actors treated as implementers, not leaders
    
    

  • Tokenistic inclusion without power transfer
    
    

6. How has the growth of bureaucratization and influence of markets and capitalism possibly weakened compassion among humanitarian agencies?

• Bureaucratization prioritizes procedures, audits, and metrics over moral urgency
  
  

• Marketization introduces competition, branding, and growth incentives
  
  

• Compassion becomes managed through campaigns rather than sustained solidarity
  
  

• Aid shifts from relational care to technocratic delivery
  
  

7. Discuss the trends in aid worker deaths in the 21st century. How have aid agencies responded? What are the two strategies and which direction have NGOs leaned?

• Aid work has become more dangerous due to fragmented conflicts and politicization
  
  

• Two strategies:
  
  

  • Acceptance: trust-building, community engagement, neutrality
    
    

  • Protection: security measures, remote management, restricted movement
    
    

• NGOs increasingly lean toward protection due to legal and security pressures
  
  

8. Megan Bradley explains that humanitarian emergencies are not funded solely on the basis of need. What factors prevent this and what solutions does she propose?

• Funding influenced by:
  
  

  • Donor political interests
    
    

  • Media attention and visibility
    
    

  • Security and counterterror restrictions
    
    

• Structural barriers:
  
  

  • Earmarking and donor control
    
    

• Proposed solutions:
  
  

  • Needs-based allocation
    
    

  • Reduced earmarking
    
    

  • Expanded pooled funding mechanisms
    
    

9. Will the shocking cuts to humanitarian aid lead to a shift in power from the West to the South?

• Cuts may weaken Western dominance and donor leverage
  
  

• Could create space for South-South cooperation and local leadership
  
  

• Power shift is not automatic
  
  

If funding channels remain centralized, inequality persists

10. What are the ways in which inequalities in the humanitarian sector are reproduced?

• Funding structures favor large international organizations
  
  

• Compliance and risk rules disadvantage local actors
  
  

• Expertise and legitimacy defined by Global North standards
  
  

Visibility and narrative control shape whose suffering matters

11. Do the trends studied in the second half of the course suggest the end of humanitarianism as we know it?

• Suggest transformation rather than disappearance
  
  

• Humanitarianism is becoming:
  
  

  • More securitized
    
    

  • More marketized
    
    

  • More compliance-driven
    
    

• Traditional principles are harder to uphold consistently
  
  

12. What are some of the reasons international actors say they support localization but then do little about it?

• Desire to retain control and manage risk
  
  

• Institutional incentives favor large INGOs
  
  

• Tokenism replaces real power transfer
  
  

• Racism and assumptions about local capacity persist
  
  

13. Explain the tradeoffs in taking a pragmatic approach to humanitarianism (‘humanitarian realism’). Should organizations adopt this approach?

• Humanitarian realism emphasizes practicality and engagement with power
  
  

• Benefits:
  
  

  • Greater funding
    
    

  • Continued access and scale
    
    

• Costs:
  
  

  • Compromised neutrality and independence
    
    

  • Long-term mission drift
    
    

Adoption may work short-term but risks ethical erosion

14. Gareth Owen says that SCUK “stands among the rich and powerful in an effort to further the cause of the poor.” How does this further, undermine, and hinder humanitarianism?

• Furthers:
  
  

  • Access to resources and influence
    
    

• Undermines:
  
  

  • Perceived neutrality and moral authority
    
    

• Hinders:
  
  

  • Ability to operate in politically sensitive contexts
    
    

15. What does Owen mean by “Humanitarian Corporations”? Explain how humanitarian organizations have become more corporate.

• NGOs adopt corporate governance, branding, and growth strategies
  
  

• Driven by government contracting and private partnerships
  
  

• Leadership shifts toward managers and fundraisers
  
  

• Ethical compromises accumulate over time
  
  

16. Explain how corporations are “doing good” while “doing well” when contributing to humanitarian aid organizations.

• Corporate social responsibility links aid to brand value
  
  

• Cause-related marketing increases sales and reputation
  
  

• Consumer participation replaces political engagement
  
  

Structural causes of suffering remain unchallenged

17. What does “make live and let die” mean? What is its relevance for humanitarianism and access to medicines?

• Systems distribute life chances unequally
  
  

• Some lives are prioritized; others are neglected
  
  

• Humanitarian triage reflects this sorting
  
  

• Medicine access shaped by patents, pricing, and markets
  
  

18. We discussed causes of the “Age of Indifference.” Provide three and explain each.

• Compassion fatigue from constant crisis exposure
  
  

• Media saturation leading to disengagement
  
  

• Marketized care turning concern into consumption
  
  

19. How did TRIPS affect access to medicines globally?

• Strengthened global intellectual property protections
  
  

• Limited generic drug production
  
  

• Kept prices high in low-income contexts
  
  

Compulsory licensing exists but is politically constrained

20. Why do Degan Ali and Hugo Slim think racism prevents increased localization? What other factors contribute?

• Racism leads to distrust of local capacity and leadership
  
  

• Local actors seen as less professional or accountable
  
  

• Other barriers:
  
  

  • Donor compliance rules
    
    

  • Banking de-risking
    
    

Security and counterterror frameworks

21. How does the sacrificial international order explain refugee policy and access to medicine?

• Some populations are sacrificed to maintain global stability
  
  

• Refugees face deterrence to protect state sovereignty
  
  

• Medicine access restricted by market logic
  
  

Preventable deaths become normalized outcomes

22. What happened at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016?

• Intended to reform humanitarian system and address legitimacy crisis
  
  

• Emphasized localization and efficiency
  
  

• Resulted in the Grand Bargain
  
  

Criticized for elite dominance and limited implementation

23. How did localization pose a solution to the legitimacy crisis of humanitarianism?

• Shifts authority closer to affected communities
  
  

• Enhances contextual knowledge and accountability
  
  

• Addresses colonial and paternalistic critiques
  
  

• Effectiveness limited by lack of real power transfer
  
  

24. How might the expansion of humanitarian organizations from the Global South affect humanitarian principles?

• Could strengthen legitimacy and local trust
  
  

• May diversify interpretations of neutrality and independence
  
  

• Risk of fragmentation under global compliance pressures
  
  

25. Which humanitarian principles are under threat? Apply to a case.

• Neutrality threatened by politicization and counterterror laws
  
  

• Independence threatened by donor and security agendas
  
  

• Impartiality threatened by “friend/foe” logic
  
  

• Case: aid restrictions in conflict zones with designated groups
  
  

26. How and why might humanitarian organizations be unable to deliver appropriate aid?

• Legal risk under counterterror laws
  
  

• Banking de-risking blocks fund transfers
  
  

• Slow or denied exemptions
  
  

Restricted access due to security concerns

27. Explain the relationship between securitization, counterterrorism, and humanitarianism.

• Issues framed as security threats justify exceptional controls
  
  

• Counterterror rules dominate humanitarian space
  
  

• Neutral action becomes legally risky
  
  

• Aid delivery slows or stops
  
  

28. What pushed the growing role of corporations in humanitarianism? What are the benefits and costs?

• Push factors:
  
  

  • Funding shortages
    
    

  • Marketization
    
    

• Benefits:
  
  

  • Resources, logistics, scale
    
    

• Costs:
  
  

  • Loss of independence
    
    

Brand capture and legitimacy concerns

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30. On what grounds did the US Supreme Court rule against humanitarian actors in HLP v. Holder? How did this curtail humanitarian action?

• Court ruled that “material support” includes nonviolent assistance
  
  

• Aid could legitimize designated groups
  
  

• Expanded criminal liability
  
  

• Chilled humanitarian engagement and access
  
  

31. Why are states criminalizing humanitarian action and shrinking civil society space?

• Security framing dominates governance
  
  

• NGOs seen as potential threats or political actors
  
  

• Legal tools deter engagement without prosecutions
  
  

Results in self-censorship and withdrawal

32. What are the advantages and disadvantages of local NGOs compared to INGOs?

• Advantages:
  
  

  • Local knowledge, trust, access
    
    

• Disadvantages:
  
  

  • Underfunding
    
    

  • Compliance burdens
    
    

• INGOs:
  
  

Greater resources but legitimacy gaps

33. Explain the causes of declining compassion and its impact on humanitarian organizations. Are aid workers immune

• Causes:
  
  

  • Fatigue
    
    

  • Media overload
    
    

  • Political disengagement
    
    

• Impact:
  
  

  • Fundraising challenges
    
    

  • Reliance on shock imagery
    
    

Aid workers experience burnout and compassion fatigue

34. What is the critique of Australia’s handling of displaced peoples?

• Heavy reliance on deterrence and externalization
  
  

• Offshore detention and rights suppression
  
  

• Creates zones of prolonged suffering
  
  

Prioritizes border control over protection

35. How did agreements to offload asylum seekers emerge and what impact do they have?

• Driven by securitization and migration deterrence
  
  

• Outsource responsibility to third countries
  
  

• Suppress access to asylum
  
  

Increase vulnerability and rights violations

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37. What is triage and how does it affect humanitarian action?

• Allocation under scarcity
  
  

• Determines who receives aid first
  
  

• Normalizes exclusion in resource-limited contexts
  
  

Explains responses to funding cuts

38. What is at stake in the debate over concentric circles of obligation (Vance vs Popes)?

• Whether moral duty extends beyond national borders
  
  

• Tension between local priority and universal humanity
  
  

• Shapes attitudes toward refugees and distant suffering
  
  

39. What is the relationship between humanity and sovereignty?

• Humanity demands alleviating suffering
  
  

• Sovereignty controls borders and authority
  
  

• Constant tension in refugee policy and aid access
  
  

Sovereignty often overrides humanitarian claims

40. Are parents letting you live rent-free humanitarians?

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43. What is R2P?

• R2P: Responsibility to Protect populations from mass atrocities
  
  

• Emphasizes state responsibility and international action
  
  

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45. What is securitization and why is it relevant to humanitarianism?

• Treats issues as security threats
  
  

• Justifies exceptional restrictions
  
  

• Crowds out humanitarian principles
  
  

Limits access and neutrality

46. What is marketization and why is it relevant to humanitarianism?

• Application of market logic to aid
  
  

• Includes branding, competition, partnerships
  
  

• Reframes care as commodity
  
  

Risks mission drift

47. Why is humanitarianism easily instrumentalized? Is this an occupational hazard?

• Moral authority makes it attractive for political and corporate use
  
  

• Embedded in security and market systems
  
  

• Instrumentalization is structurally likely
  
  

48. What is the sacrificial international order and what role does humanitarianism play in it?

• Some lives are sacrificed to sustain global order
  
  

• Humanitarianism mitigates suffering without changing structures
  
  

Can legitimize the system it responds to

49. Is there a consistent logic of triage at global, intervention, and clinical levels?

• All involve scarcity and prioritization
  
  

• Global: which crises matter
  
  

• Field: where access is possible
  
  

• Clinical: who is treated first
  
  

50. How do different meanings of “access” shape humanitarian action and access to medicines?

• Aid access: security, negotiation, permission
  
  

• Medicine access: affordability, patents, pricing
  
  

• Both reflect power over life-saving resources
  
  

51. Discuss paternalism in humanitarianism and why it is visible in localization debates.

• Paternalism: outsiders deciding for others
  
  

• Localization challenges this by demanding power transfer
  
  

Resistance reveals enduring hierarchies

52. Is it possible for humanitarianism to avoid being coopted?

• Completely avoiding cooptation is difficult
  
  

• Can be reduced through strong principles and accountability
  
  

Requires resisting market and security capture

53. What does Slim mean by “civilian ambiguities”?

• Civilians are not always clearly separable from conflict roles
  
  

• Ambiguity exploited by states to justify restrictions
  
  

Challenges simple protection frameworks

54. Where do you think humanitarianism is headed?

• Toward securitized and marketized models
  
  

• More corporate and hybrid actors
  
  

Counter-trend toward localization and South-South cooperation

55. Why do some in the Global South see funding cuts as a “blessing in disguise”?

• Cuts weaken Western control
  
  

• Force reliance on local systems
  
  

Create opportunity for genuine localization

56. How do you know a humanitarian when you see one? Apply principles to different actors.

• Use humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence
  
  

• Military: lacks neutrality/independence
  
  

• Corporations: profit motives dominate
  
  

• MSF: closely aligns with principles
  
  

• Volunteers/donors: humanitarian acts, but institutional criteria differ