Livestreaming
Humanitarianism in crisis?
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The field of humanitarianism is transforming. Climate change, protracted crises and displacement, and political conflicts around asylum are changing and challenging the way humanitarians work. Humanitarian organisations not only respond to emergencies but also attempt to predict and prepare for future needs. At the same time, a diverse range of actors, beyond the traditional aid agencies (including from the civil society and corporate sectors), have entered the humanitarian field. These fundamental changes spark new questions about what constitutes humanitarianism today and its success and failure in delivering aid. For example, new critiques of humanitarianism have emerged, including mounting calls for localising humanitarian aid and decolonisation. At this seminar, we ask: Is humanitarianism facing a crisis of legitimacy? Will the ghost of coloniality continue to haunt the industry? And what does this crisis mean for the future of humanitarian responses and the people who depend on it?
The seminar is organised in collaboration with Copenhagen Business School and will feature award-winning scholars in the field of humanitarianism who will discuss the current challenges and emerging variations of humanitarianism, the historical continuities, and their impact on the future. The speakers will share their findings based on their fieldwork in Iraq, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Tanzania, and along Europe’s borders.
Polly Pallister-Wilkins, Associate Professor, Faculty of Social and Behavioural Science, University of Amsterdam
Polly Pallister-Wilkins is a political geographer specialising in the intersection of humanitarian intervention, border controls and mobility injustice. Her latest research focuses on the role of race and racism in humanitarianism and the possibilities for decolonisation. She is the co-Editor of the journal Geopolitics and the author of "Humanitarian Borders: Unequal Mobility and Saving Lives", which was the winner of the International Political Sociology Book Award 2023.
Antonio de Lauri, Research Professor, Chr. Michelsen Institut
Antonio de Lauri is an anthropologist focusing on legal and political anthropology, war, and humanitarianism. His current research on "War and Fun" is funded by a prestigious ERC Consolidator Grant. He is the President of the International Humanitarian Studies Association, the founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Public Anthropologist, and from 2021-2023 he was the Director of the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies.
Lisa Ann Richey, Professor of Globalization, Department of Management, Society and Communication at Copenhagen Business School
Lisa Ann Richey is Professor of Globalization at the Copenhagen Business School in Denmark. Her research is on understanding business as a critical player in global development and humanitarianism. She’s the author of seven books, most recently Batman Saves the Congo: Business, Disruption and the Politics of Development with Alexandra Budabin (2021), nominated for the ISA GDS book prize and on the Washington Post’s summer 2022 recommended reading list. She is currently leading a collaborative research project on Everyday Humanitarianism in Tanzania.
Ida Marie Savio Vammen, Senior Researcher, Department of Migration and Global Order, Danish Institute for International Studies
Nauja Kleist, Senior Researcher, Department of Migration and Global Order, Danish Institute for International Studies
Programme
15.00-15.05 Introduction, Ida Marie Savio Vammen
15.05-15.25 Coloniality in humanitarian futures thinking, Polly Pallister-Wilkins
15.25-15.45 Forms of humanitarianism: Improvisation, institutionalisation, absence, Antonio de Lauri
15.45-16.10 Panel discussion, Lisa Ann Richey & Nauja Kleist
16.10-16.30 Q&A
The seminar was held and recorded on 1 February 2024, 15.00-16.30 in DIIS Auditorium.
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