55: The Future of Humanitarianism with Michael N. Barnett

Michael Barnett is a leading thinker and scholar on
humanitarianism, which as he says cannot be separated from
humanity. Michael frames humanitarianism in the context of
Empire, discussing the ongoing tensions between
paternalism/control and compassion/giving that have been present
since humanitarianism began. In more recent times humanitarianism
has shifted from a voluntarism ethos to an expert professional
ethos. The benefits and challenges of these changes are now under
scrutiny. Professional experts, on the one hand, bring important
knowledge and changes that save lives;  on the other hand,
there has evolved a technocratic and instrumentalism that
silences local and different voices and creates a managerialist
machinery that stifles engagement.  

Michael shares his thinking that will be published in a
forthcoming book co-authored with Unni Karankura, 
"Humanitarianism in a Post-Liberal Age" (Cambridge University
Press). Three areas he points to that are driving change
are:

Securitization – how security is impacting
humanitarian work in new ways, and more humanitarians are at risk
today. Marketisation – how market forces have
radically changed the face of humanitarianism, whereas previously
there was a split between the 'sacred-humanitarianism' and the
'profane-market', and now the two find themselves very entangled,
with contested outcomes.  Cosmopolitanism —
the shift from human rights to a rooted cosmopolitanism in which
the givers and receivers are questioning the quality of the aid
relationship, typified by the rise of localization, the racial
reckoning in the aid sector, and decolonizing aid. 


This is a fascinating and insightful discussion - enjoy.

Bio

Michael Barnett is a University Professor of International
Affairs and Political Science at the George Washington
University. His research interests span the Middle East,
humanitarianism, global governance, global ethics, and the United
Nations. Author of Empire of Humanity: A History of
Humanitarianism; his most recent books include The Star and the
Stripes: A History of the Foreign Policies of the American Jews;
Paternalism Beyond Borders; and, most recently, the edited
collection Humanitarianism and Human Rights: Worlds of
Differences?

His current research projects include the changing forms of
global governance, hierarchies in humanitarian governance; the
end of the two-state solution and the rise of the one-state
reality in Israel/Palestine; and the relationship between
suffering and progress in the liberal international order.

A former Associate Editor of International Organization,
Professor Barnett is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations
and the recipient of many grants and awards for his
research.

Contact Michael:
https://elliott.gwu.edu/michael-barnett