not, some sense of democracy seems appropriate. Furthermore, I do not want to tie
the notion to any single definitive characteristic of democracy, such as deliberation,
for example.^11 Indeed, in response to a reification of their master signifier by
deliberative democracy theorists, Michael Walzer provides a long list of the
different elements that, for him, characterise the play of democratic politics:
political education, organisation, mobilisation, demonstration, statement, debate,
bargaining, lobbying, campaigning, voting, fund-raising, corruption, mundane
chores, ruling.^12 Over the course of the thesis, humanitarianism has been seen as
implicated in all these political activities at different times. Thus, if a humanitarian
“politics of humanity” is characterised by anything, it is complexity. The temptation
will always be to try to resolve that complexity, to find a key that will simplify it. I
have argued that such an enterprise is doomed. What clarity I offer is as follows: by
embracing their endeavour as engaged in a particular kind of politics, humanitarians
of all hues can cease to situate themselves merely as outsiders to various brands of
politics, the interaction with which either pollutes one or the other party (and
critiques of humanitarianism are generally concerned with either one or the other).
Instead, they can start to acknowledge, and in doing so enrich, the real discussion
they are engaged in, and bring home with greater force the importance for all of us
of its outcomes.
Moreover, the complexity of this politics implies a degree of humility with
regard to the legitimacy and qualities of its stakeholders. Firstly, if a democratic
quality is to be preserved, it demands that the voices of those to whom solidarity is
tendered should be heard, even if they cannot entirely be honoured across all the
parameters of activity.
Furthermore, in contrast to an idealised ethical act, the complex nature of
the “politics of humanity” is not one particularly well served by a requirement for
perfect global altruists. In campaigning and mobilising, it may be best not to draw
11
Though, for a more expansive conception of deliberation, argumentation and
contestation in non-Western democratic traditions, see Amartya Sen, The Argumentative
Indian: Writings on Indian Culture, History and Pol 12 itics (London: Allen Lane, 2005).
Michael Walzer, "Deliberation, and What Else?" in Thinking Politically: Essays in Political
Theory , ed. David Miller (New Haven & London: Yale University Press, 2007).