it is appropriate to the development of the argument, with the realm of
professional humanitarianism, that is, the sphere of aid and relief work that
explicitly labels itself “humanitarian”, as the constant touchstone in terms of
relating to actually-existing humanitarianism.^17 But a brief summary of this
unwritten thesis seems appropriate, as the argument presented here will range
widely, and an indication of where it plausibly might go will lay down some useful
markers for what follows, especially when it comes to the later chapters which
explore such conceptual spaces of institutionalised humanitarianism as human
rights, global justice, and ultimately liberalism itself.
Such a work would firstly have to consider the creation of actors designed to
carry out humanitarian action. Ian Smillie and Larry Minear identify five types of
humanitarian actors: “United Nations institutions, government aid agencies,
international nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), members of the Red Cross
and Red Crescent movement, and local NGOs and other civil society institutions
based in countries facing emergencies”.^18 This list represents the classical core of
professional humanitarianism, which will be the starting point for the thesis. But it
is at best a partial list. The role of individuals, acting individually or in concert on an
ad hoc basis is vitally important, while Chapters 5 and, especially, 6 will explore the
role of states themselves, beyond their aid departments and incorporating their
military capacity. We would also want to consider the role of actors within pre-
existing humanitarian projects: a soldier fulfilling his obligations under IHL, or a
judge adjudicating on a war crimes trial.
Indeed, legal embodiments of the humanitarian impulse would have to be
an important part of a longer account. Here we would need to look at the
17
This broadly corresponds to “the cluster of enterprises referred to as ‘international
humanitarian assistance’”, identified by Ramsbotham and Woodhouse, alongside
international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as one of the three
main manifestations of humanitarian concern since 1945. They also recommend
approaching the question of the meaning of “humanitarian” obliquely, through an analysis
of how practitioners understand it Oliver Ramsbotham and Tom Woodhouse, Humanitarian
Intervention in Contemporary Conflict: A Reconceptualization (Cambridge: Polity Press,
1996), 9-10. 18
Ian Smillie and Larry Minear, The Charity of Nations: Humanitarian Action in a Calculating
World (Bloomfield: Kumarian Press, 2004), 11.