1. Introduction: Humanitarianism in Crisis and the Promise of International Political Theory
As part of a major rebranding exercise undertaken in early 2008, Oxfam, a leading
British non-governmental organisation (NGO) launched a striking new slogan: “Be
Humankind”.^1 The exhortation neatly captures the three most significant meanings
of “humanity”: the “quality of being humane”, implying kindness and benevolence;
the “condition, quality, or fact of being human”; and “[human] beings collectively”.^2
This thesis explores the ways in which we search for and contest the meaning of
humanity, in all three of the aforementioned senses of the term, through the idea
of humanitarianism. It does this by bringing together two debates that are
intimately involved, if not always self-consciously, in these negotiations.
Firstly, it examines the debates among professional humanitarians about the
nature of their calling, drawing on the dilemmas and paradoxes that characterise
contemporary humanitarian action. A decade into the twenty-first century, the
“humanitarian impulse” has been institutionalised at international level to an
unprecedented degree, across inter-governmental organisations (IGOs), non-
governmental organisations, complex bodies of International Humanitarian Law
(IHL) and International Human Rights Law. Yet many consider that humanitarianism
is in the throes of a multifaceted crisis of identity. This sense of crisis is most
strongly felt among those who now pass whole careers in its employ and can
plausibly be termed professional humanitarians. Their unease feeds on a double
sense of doubt. They doubt whether, for all the prominence of humanitarianism
and human rights within contemporary political discourse, the contemporary world
1
Darren Davidson, "Oxfam Urges Consumers to 'Be Humankind'", brandrepublic.com (
April 2008). Available at http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/803123/Oxfam-urges-
consumers-be-humankind/; accessed on 05 July 2010. Oxfam, Be Humankind , TV advert
(2008). Available at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQK6ODxDfDY&feature=player_embedded; accessed
on 05 July 2010. 2
Oxford English Dictionary, "Humanity", Oxford English Dictionary Online (Draft Revision
June 2010). Available at http://dictionary.oed.com; accessed on 05 July 2010.