Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) play an increasingly important role in the world and receive a growing amount of outsourced development work. Funding enables them to do the work necessary to provide aid. NGO work is influenced by the dependence on their donors and many NGOs increasingly take donations from private donors as a way to try to mitigate donor dependence and maintain neutrality in their work. However there is little research analysing this shift and the potential positive and negative effects. This study looks at dependence and efficiency in an NGO - private donor relationship. The objective is to contribute to the discussion about NGO dependency on donors by evaluating the positive and negative impacts of primarily private donorship on NGOs’ work efficiency. Little research has been done on the private donor relationship and this study is contributing to filling that gap. The study is a qualitative case study, with Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) due to their private donor base’s recent increase. The data were obtained through interviews with MSF Sweden staff, other MSF primary source documents and secondary sources written by scholars on the topic of NGO dependency on their donors. The results of this study concluded that MSF works more efficiently with a primarily private donor base, due primarily to their increase in independence and control of their own operations. Since the shift from EU-funding, MSF can spend fewer resources on reporting and more on allocating the money to the field. A primarily private donor base has a positive impact on MSF and it is safe to say that other NGOs will likely follow suit. Further research should look into other NGOs to see whether a primarily private donor base benefits them too or if MSF is a one case exception.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise porte sur le concept d’identité organisationnelle, appliqué au milieu des organisations humanitaires. Le contexte mondial actuel dans lequel évoluent ces organisations leur impose de revoir certaines de leurs valeurs et façons de faire. En effet, les équipes des ONG sur le terrain sont confrontées à des conflits de plus en plus nombreux et complexes, qui remettent en question l’identité de leur organisation. Cette recherche vise à dresser un portrait du travail des employés de l’organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) lors de missions humanitaires, alors que ceux-ci doivent justifier et négocier la présence de l’organisation auprès de la population et des autorités locales. En nous basant sur le concept de sensemaking développé par Karl E. Weick, nous présentons une analyse narrative des récits de mission de cinq employés de MSF. Cette analyse permet d’étudier comment, au quotidien, les employés d’une ONG le terrain sont impliqués dans des négociations où l’identité organisationnelle est continuellement menacée et remise en question. / This thesis focuses on the concept of organizational identity, applied to humanitarian organizations. The actual international context is forcing these organizations to review some of their core values and procedures. Consequently, their teams on the field are confronted with more and more conflicts and complex situations where the organisation’s identity is at stake. The aim of this research is to produce a better understanding of the work that employees of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) do on the field during a mission, especially when they have to justify and negotiate the presence of their organisation with the local populations and authorities. Based on Karl E. Weick’s concept of sensemaking, we present a narrative analysis of fieldwork stories we collected by conducting interviews with five MSF employees. Not only does this analysis help us understand the roles employees have to play on the field, but it also provides insight into the different situations when organizational identity is being negotiated.

Ce mémoire de maîtrise porte sur le concept d’identité organisationnelle, appliqué au milieu des organisations humanitaires. Le contexte mondial actuel dans lequel évoluent ces organisations leur impose de revoir certaines de leurs valeurs et façons de faire. En effet, les équipes des ONG sur le terrain sont confrontées à des conflits de plus en plus nombreux et complexes, qui remettent en question l’identité de leur organisation. Cette recherche vise à dresser un portrait du travail des employés de l’organisation Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) lors de missions humanitaires, alors que ceux-ci doivent justifier et négocier la présence de l’organisation auprès de la population et des autorités locales. En nous basant sur le concept de sensemaking développé par Karl E. Weick, nous présentons une analyse narrative des récits de mission de cinq employés de MSF. Cette analyse permet d’étudier comment, au quotidien, les employés d’une ONG le terrain sont impliqués dans des négociations où l’identité organisationnelle est continuellement menacée et remise en question. / This thesis focuses on the concept of organizational identity, applied to humanitarian organizations. The actual international context is forcing these organizations to review some of their core values and procedures. Consequently, their teams on the field are confronted with more and more conflicts and complex situations where the organisation’s identity is at stake. The aim of this research is to produce a better understanding of the work that employees of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) do on the field during a mission, especially when they have to justify and negotiate the presence of their organisation with the local populations and authorities. Based on Karl E. Weick’s concept of sensemaking, we present a narrative analysis of fieldwork stories we collected by conducting interviews with five MSF employees. Not only does this analysis help us understand the roles employees have to play on the field, but it also provides insight into the different situations when organizational identity is being negotiated.

The master thesis deals with the historical development of humanitarian aid against the backdrop of transformations of the world order. Firstly, the thesis scrutinizes the differences between the classical humanitarianism of the Red Cross and the so-called new humanitarianism, which emerged during the Nigerian civil war (1967-1970). Secondly, the thesis demonstrates that although the new humanitarianism tends to be presented in an opposition to and as a more historically advanced form of the classic humanitarianism, when examined in a more detailed manner, the two humanitarian approaches face similar dilemmas in relation to political power. The overcoming of the "end of history" era, which gave rise and prominence to the new humanitarianism, opened discussion about the alternatives to the future of the world order. This shift allows us to formulate the main argument of the thesis - the evolution of the humanitarianism should not be seen as teleological and linear but as a continuous process in which both the classic and the new humanitarianism need to balance between strict legalism which can lead to moral failure and exaggerated moralism which can have consequences contradicting the basic principles of humanitarian action. Keywords: classical humanitarianism, new humanitarianism, human rights,...

The world is changing and humanitarian organisations need to be equipped to change with it. This case study has examined the internal democracy within the association of Medécins Sans Frontières (MSF), the creation of social capital and how it can be used to create bottom-up medical organisational change though motions. The selection of 6 motions was made to investigate if they have created the change they intended to create. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that members have the power to create organisational change and that such changes depend on a high degree of internal membership democracy. Internal democracy is in turn a precondition for the formation of social capital. In total were 12 in depth interviews conducted with members, former and current board members as well as the executive. In addition to this has an analysis of video recoded motion debates and feedback session been analysed along with other relevant internal documentation. The study has found that the association of MSF is founded on democratic principles as a mean to guide and hold the executive responsible and fulfils formal criterion for a democracy. The internal democracy has a series of weaknesses in it, like lack of participation from members and unequal weight of influences of different members and national associations. It is also facing threats of executive manipulation due to weak boards. Despite this the association has created a strong social capital that unfortunately is unevenly distributed among the members and its social capital is at risk of declining. Regarding motions there is a lot of potential in this formal tool of influence, but often it is not the motion itself but what the motion writers and audience do with the information as well as if the executive agrees with the motions that create the intended change. It can be interpreted as if down-top approaches to operational medical organisational change only will be achieved if the “top” agrees to the change. In conclusion, the assumption of this thesis has thus been proven to a certain extent. Members have the power to create organisational change through motions but their ability to do that depends on a high degree of internal democracy but also on informal contacts. Social capital is built in the process in the social networks that each association form individually as well as together with all MSF associations. However it is not necessarily a precondition to organisational change even though it is a product of the existing internal democracy. MSF has the opportunity to strengthen the democratic process and to be better equipped to create organisational change in the future.

One billion of people lives less than one dollar a day, millions of people are forced to live out of their home, problems of humanitarian aid are very pressing theme. This diploma thesis aims to create a didactit unit for students of medical school, which would deepen their knowledges and influence their attitudes to humanitarian aid. At first at theoretic part the space is focused on complete overview in humanitarian aid, starting on history, current strategy of humanitarian aid, individual participants of aid, over the rules and risk, up to ethic and legal anchoring of aid. In theoretic part is giving a description in brief of three non- governmental non-profitable organization, whose are engaging in humanitarian aid (International Movement of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Docktors without Borders known as Medecins Sans Frontieres, which is devoted more space in view of the fact that students'orientation and Czech organization People in Trouble). In research part the questionnaire survey is performed in chosen medical school, which inquires the basic knowledges of humanitarian aid and three chosen non-profit organization and monitors students'attitudes to given problems. The didactic unit is created in the basis of analysis of collected data. From the questionnaire survey is clear the...

Médecins Sans Frontières is one of the most respected humanitarian organisations in the world, they focus mainly on providing medical care in places of emergency and war. These places are also interesting for journalists who can take advantage of the protection on the missions while also acquiring unique stories. Working in conflicted areas under a protection of an organisation is called embedded journalism. This concept has been until now studied in connection with army when journalists travel with soldiers. Therefore, their view of war can be distorted. However, a journalist who travels with Médecins Sans Frontières may also have a distorted view of world. Twelve journalists from around the world, who visited the missions and documented the work of doctors, gave interviews for this diploma thesis. In the interviews, they described their experiences, the advantages and disadvantages of being embedded, and how the organisation may have influenced their work. Several Médecins Sans Frontières workers have also shared their experience. The interviews were put in context by a content analysis that focused on the articles and photographs made on missions by these journalists.

The aim of this Master thesis is to identify the specifics of non-governmental organization Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) as an actor of international relations, mainly through the presentation and activities of the organization during the implementation of its programs in the early 1990s, when the process of internationalization was consolidated. The thesis also covers the issue of respecting the commitment to shared values for which Doctors Without Borders claim responsibility, and which also represents the principles of their activities. Based on the theoretical framework of actorness, it is possible to compare three missions of Doctors Without Borders implemented during the internal state conflicts in Somalia, Rwanda and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The analysis shows that during this period, Doctors Without Borders is characterized by a strong national identity of particular sections, in that we can see the strong national features of the French, Belgian and Dutch sections, which often behaved contradictorily and incoherently. The commitment to respect the shared values is fulfilled with one exception, namely the obligation to respect the neutral status.