Our recommendations in October:
Humanitarian Blackmail
Natasha Hall and Emma Beals discuss how warring parties are using aid negotiations as blackmail in Foreign Affairs.
Navigating narratives in Ukraine
What role do narratives play in humanitarian action in Ukraine? What is an adequate humanitarian response in the midst of solidarity and resistance? HPG's Moallin, Hargrave and Saez discuss these questions in a new working paper.
Foreign Aid and Its Unintended Consequences
Dirk-Jan Koch, head of research at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, examines the unintended side effects of international aid in a new book. For a quick summary, check out the recording of this ODI event.
Niger faces the consequences of the Minusma withdrawal (in German)
Developments in the Sahel have recently escalated due to a series of recent military coups. German civil society has responded by attempting to delve beyond the daily news cycle, a decision that has since proved to be highly pertinent in light of the recent coup in Niger. In this insightful interview, Ulf Lässing of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of the German government’s strategy of relying on Niamey as a new regional anchor would work.
Be Ready When It Counts: Germany’s Mali Policy
In this blog post, Melissa Li of GPPI discusses the effectiveness of foreign policy in countries like Mali, which lack a constructive counterpart, and considers the suitability of a "stand-by" approach.
Shaping Stabilisation
In this context, the 2022 guidelines for Germany's stabilisation policy hold particular relevance. They offer a markedly clearer and more transparent identification of conflicting objectives and challenges compared to the previous 2017 guidelines. Among other things, they state for the first time: "Military and police engagement, integrated action for peace, development cooperation and humanitarian aid must be coordinated with one another more effectively as policy areas to achieve the overarching peace objective", while "an honest assessment of the policy trade-offs involved in a given context needs to be made (...) it must be recognised that there may be conflicting goals. For example, stabilisation measures are inherently political, while humanitarian aid is governed by humanitarian principles and is thus neutral. Often, however, both are needed at the same time. Here, it is vital to assess the situation with the stakeholders in order to initiate innovative solutions adapted to the specific situation on an ongoing basis with a view to managing the particular dilemmas."
Responsible data sharing between humanitarian organizations and donors: towards a common approach
In this blog post, Cassard, Campo und Belina summarise the latest discussion about sharing data between humanitarian organisations and donors, and highlight the six guidelines for responsible data sharing.
Towards a Principled Approach to Humanitarian Information and Communication Technology
Although written in 2017, this paper remains highly relevant for today’s discussion about using a principled approach to technology. It discusses the role of humanitarian principles in technology design and the application of these principles in the era of artificial intelligence.
Fortschritt durch Datennutzung
The new German data strategy charts the course for Germany's future data utilisation, addressing issues such as data access, use and compliance with the fundamental right to informational self-determination. Interestingly, the manner in which this strategy will be put into practice within the realm of humanitarian action remains uncertain, even as the significance of the national data strategy for development cooperation is acknowledged and elaborated upon. [German]
Localisation - Exploring a multifaceted agenda
An anthology from VOICE providing a comprehensive overview of locally-led humanitarian action.
Supporting donors’ responsibility for greater accountability to
people in crisis
Andy Featherstone provides a comprehensive analysis of donor policies and commitments in relation to accountability to affected populations (AAPs). There are three broad categories of donors: those with "commitments and explicit requirements", those with "commitments and 'quality' partners" and those with "notional commitments".
Can Redistribution Change Policy Views? Aid and Attitudes toward Refugees in Uganda
Travis Baseler et al. present a randomised controlled trial that demonstrates how aid distribution can positively influence host communities’ attitudes towards refugees.
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