In 2015 Sweden experienced a large increase in the number of asylum-seekers arriving in the country. Among them were 35,000 unaccompanied minors. As a response, a rollback of migrant rights was introduced beginning in November that year. This study examines the experiences of people who volunteered as guardians/foster homes for unaccompanied minors and subsequently followed them through the asylum systems during this period. The research is based on 12 in-depth interviews with guardians/foster parents. Three major themes are identified within the interview data: Unreliable systems/injustice, Going above and beyond and (Unexpected) solidarity. The findings suggest that Sweden’s adoption of much harsher migration policies made the work of guardians/foster homes increasingly difficult to carry out to a level that provided the necessary support for these children. The guardians/foster parents also found the asylum systems to be untrustworthy and unjust to a point where the unaccompanied minors’ rights were not upheld. Affectionate relationships with the unaccompanied minors and acts of solidarity by persons working within the systems and in civil society were counter-weights providing guardians/foster parents with energy and hope.

This assessment addresses the intervention of intrastate conflict through the coordination of humanitarian aid and military force. The coordination, known as humanitarian intervention, dates back to the philosophy of Hugo Grotius and the debate of the Just War doctrine. Through the evolution of international law and the concept of sovereignty, justification of intervention continued to develop though the establishment of the United Nations Charter. Several moral, legal and political debates that formed in early philosophies persist through the implementation of humanitarian intervention in modern warfare. The historical background and of philosophical challenges of humanitarian intervention are reflected in recent cases studies such as the conflicts in Somalia, former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. With the consideration of this assessment, one can conclude the necessary conditions needed for a successful humanitarian intervention. In the twenty-first century, a time when weapons range from nuclear arms to homemade explosives and when political instability endangers an interconnected international community, there exists a need for adaptation to any given threat. Humanitarian intervention is one possible solution to redress human rights violations and maintain international peace and security.

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Complex humanitarian emergencies have posed a challenge for the ethical project behind traditional humanitarianism. The humanitarian action field is under permanent scrutiny over its motivations, efficiency and impact. Altruism, compassion, humanity and other ethical values have supported the development of contemporary humanitarianism, but something is missing. This thesis is an attempt to understand the roots of the ethical project behind humanitarianism by analysing the concept of vulnerability through the lens of different theoretical frameworks that can add new perspectives with the objective of proposing a new interpretation in accordance to the context of a contemporary complex humanitarian emergency: Venezuela.

Child sponsorship has long been a contentious topic since its inception and subsequent mainstay as one of the key models in development for acquiring funds. As a tool for non-governmental organisations (NGOs), it is a popular and therefore competitive practice that requires able communications that simultaneously can promote sponsorship and maintain the ethical ideals of the organisation. The aim of this paper is to develop further understanding and increased knowledge of how Plan International, a prominent NGO and a proponent of the practice, present and communicate child sponsorship. Within the confines of a case study, the paper sets out to establish the methods, purposes and considerations that Plan International have when they communicate and market child sponsorship, one of their primary ways of accruing funds and thus mobilising action. Drawing on a triangulation of collected empirical data, and under a defined theoretical framework that advocates a post-humanitarianism approach, this thesis makes tentative conclusions that whilst Plan International are making strides to modernise their child sponsorship approach they are at the same time encountering continued challenges of representation, framing and strategizing their message.

This dissertation contributes to literature on postwar philanthropy and the Franco-American relationship. It examines the private voluntary relief organization, American Aid to France (AAF), which provided emergency supplies, rehabilitative services, and assisted in the reconstruction of France following the Second World War. Unlike other devastated European countries, Charles de Gaulle did not invite the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) to host a program, which limited France’s participation in the transnational relief movement of the immediate postwar period and allowed AAF to become the principal foreign private voluntary aid agency operating in Liberated France. From 1944 to 1956, AAF asserted that its assistance reflected the strength of the Franco-American alliance, and kinship felt between two countries with a shared history of liberal revolution and republicanism. AAF’s statements expressing “goodwill” and “historical friendship” towards France rapidly began to assume a more political tone as Cold War tensions intensified. From 1947 onward, AAF became increasingly outspoken in its support for capitalism, democracy, and international cooperation. These statements were crafted for, and appealed to, U.S. authorities who believed France was the key to containing communism in Europe. In reality, AAF’s main concern was redressing the destruction of Normandy caused by Allied bombing campaigns, and the organization showed no hesitation to work with mayors from across the political spectrum in devastated French communities to achieve this goal. AAF’s private voluntary status shielded the organization from French criticisms of Americanization chiefly aimed at the Marshall Plan. This dissertation demonstrates that AAF was part of an independent, robust private voluntary relief sphere that contributed to Europe’s recovery, and helped citizens in the United States and France come to terms with the transition from war to peace. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation contributes to literature on postwar philanthropy and Franco-American relations. It examines American Aid to France (AAF), one of hundreds of U.S. private voluntary relief organizations founded during the Second World War to help devastated civilians. Operating from 1944 to 1956, AAF’s efforts to provide emergency supplies, rehabilitative services, and assist in the reconstruction of Liberated France was a significant private affirmation of the Franco-American alliance during a period of increasingly tense international relations. Private voluntary relief organizations have been overlooked in scholarship in favour of larger agencies such as the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), which has resulted in a considerable emphasis on transnationalism in the literature on postwar relief. Examining Franco-American relations through the prism of AAF’s relief reveals that a dynamic alternative network of private assistance, which operated firmly outside of the transnational relief movement, contributed in meaningful ways to France’s recovery.

This thesis looks at a variety of stakeholders and how they inform the conversations around disasters and disaster sites. In particular it focuses on the way knowledge frameworks of different actors informs this dialogue and defines the nature of their response. The thesis argues that this has an implication for debates on democracy, governance and citizenship. The thesis looks at four sets of actors: individuals confronting and coping with the everydayness of disasters.; the states of Gujarat and Orissa in India which innovate in the face of disasters to either create a techno-managerial response and institute different methodologies or use the existing structures to embed themselves further and perpetuate the poverty and disaster industry; the Christian and secular humanitarian groups: the former make a transition from charity to rights discourse while intervening in disasters. The latter focus on building methodologies which institute certain norms of responding to disasters and catering to those it considers as more vulnerable when disaster strikes. The thesis finally turns its attention to the response of four Hindu groups who draw on civilizational categories to engage with issues of pain, suffering, healing. Each stakeholder, the thesis argues, in articulating its response to disasters, presents a 'counter model' or at least a complementary understanding of how to think and respond to disasters. This plurality of engagement by questioning the preconceived frameworks adds not just to the democratic imagination but also to the debates on what constitutes governance and citizenship. Methodologically, the thesis is an ethnographic exploration located in two sites in India: Gujarat and Orissa. It keeps storytelling, ethnography, analysis, policy documents together and tries to show that they become a weave in disaster studies.

Through the application of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA)— and paying extra attention to the utilization of ideological squaring, actor descriptions, and lexicalization— this thesis aims to discuss the Church of Sweden’s “official” discourse regarding its humanitarian and social engagement with refugees and refugee issues the year 2017. Wherein, the author attempts to discuss what the collected material— from the internet-based function Support migration, and personal semi-structured interviews with Church personnel— can tell one about the Church’s views on its self-identity, social engagement, as well as ecumenical and interreligious relations, in an increasingly diverse Swedish society. Central for this thesis is how ideology functions, and how “us and them” divisions are constructed, within the discourse, regarding the Church’s refugee work. It can be argued that a key finding of this thesis is how the Church’s discourse generally sets itself against popular contemporary categorizations of refugees as threats, in addition to classic “us and them” distinctions that often serve to demonize the religious and cultural other— which have become observable within contemporary debates regarding refugees in the Global North. Instead, it could be argued that, at least regarding these issues, the Church of Sweden provides an alternative and critical voice in these matters. However, “us and them” divisions can still be observable. Where, for instance the “us” of the Church that is presented as a moral force in society— which has a responsibility to guard human dignity— is set in opposition against “them”, which are depicted as external marginalized voices which threaten both its mission and identity.

Lors de l’été 1968, des images d’enfants décharnés, souffrant de maladies dues à la malnutrition affluent dans les médias occidentaux. Elles proviennent de la région sud orientale de la Fédération du Nigeria, qui a déclaré son indépendance une année auparavant sous le nom de République du Biafra, où se déroule une guerre civile qui oppose les troupes fédérales aux indépendantistes biafrais. L’émotion suscitée en Occident par les représentations du conflit et de la famine qui l’accompagne engendre la mobilisation de diverses organisations humanitaires, qui mettent sur pied des opérations de secours internationales destinées aux populations civiles. Encore peu étudiées par l’historiographie, la crise du Biafra et les réponses qui y sont apportées par les acteurs occidentaux sont l’objet de cette thèse. La recherche examine tout d’abord comment une guerre civile africaine prend la dimension d’une crise humanitaire internationale. Pour ce faire, elle analyse tant la situation sur place que les acteurs de son internationalisation et ses représentations. Ensuite, afin d’appréhender les opérations de secours dans leur complexité la thèse étudie le processus d’élaboration et le déploiement des réponses occidentales à la crise, ainsi que leur réception au Nigeria dans un contexte post-colonial. Enfin, la thèse questionne les principaux éléments qui ont fait du Biafra un moment charnière de l’histoire de l’humanitaire et met en lumière les reconfigurations des discours et des pratiques de l’aide humanitaire qui s’opèrent à la fin des années 1960. / In the summer of 1968, pictures of emaciated children, suffering from diseases due to malnutrition, poured in western medias. They came from the eastern region of the Federation of Nigeria, which had proclaimed its independence one year before and taken the name of the Republic of Biafra. War and famine that were taking place in the region generated widespread concern in the West, where humanitarian organizations decided to set up international relief operations to help alleviate the suffering of the civilian population. Still understudied by the historiography, the crisis in Biafra and the mobilization of western organizations are the subjects of this PhD. Firstly, the dissertation examines how an African civil war became an international humanitarian crisis. To this purpose, it analyses the situation in the ground, the actors of its internationalization and how it was represented. Secondly, in order to grasp the complexity of humanitarian aid, the dissertation studies the elaboration and the deployment of the relied operations, as well as their reception in Nigeria in a post-colonial context. Finally, the thesis questions why Biafra is usually considered as a turning point in the history of humanitarianism. By so doing, it sheds light on the reconfigurations of the discourses and practices of humanitarian aid that took place in the late 1960’s.

Cette thèse est le résultat d’une enquête documentaire et ethnographique prenant pour objet les acteurs du système de l’aide internationale en Haïti entre 2010 et 2016 ainsi que leurs interactions structurées dans l’objectif de faire une sociologie politique de la gestion des crises dans ce pays. L’enquête montre notamment que la multiplication et l’enchevêtrement des domaines de spécialisation de ces acteurs a produit une « bureaucratie de l’urgence » parallèle à l’État haïtien, ce qui entraîne des superpositions et des incohérences dans la gestion et la prévention des crises. Je présente le travail de cette bureaucratie pour gouverner l’humanitaire comme un art de gouvernement. L’apport principal de cette thèse est de montrer que cet art de gouvernement s’exerce tant sur les humanitaires eux-mêmes que sur les bénéficiaires de l’aide, bien que de manières différentes. / This PhD-thesis is an ethnographic study of the actors of the aid system and of their interactions within the humanitarian system in Haïti between 2010 and 2016. It is also a work based on the documentary review of the more global humanitarian reform dynamics, Haïti being a test zone for these dynamics. The objective of this dissertation is to make a political sociology of crisis management in this country. My study especially shows that the emergence of many juxtaposed sectors of specialization among these actors has led to the creation of a “bureaucracy of emergency management”, which works as a parallel governing force, away from the Haitian state, and thus leads to inconsistencies in crisis management and prevention. I analyze the work done by this bureaucracy to govern the humanitarian world as an art of government. My major argument here is to show that this art of government weighs on humanitarian actors as much as on aid beneficiaries, although in differing ways.