This thesis concerns the history of humanitarian nutrition and its political implications. Drawing on aid agency archives and other historical sources, it examines how food has been delivered in emergencies, from the First World War to the present day. The approach is ethnographic: this is a study of the micro-level practices of relief, examining the objects distributed, the plans made, the techniques used. It is also historical: examining how such practices have changed over time. This thesis makes five interlocking arguments. First, I make a political point: that humanitarian action is always political, and that it is impossible to adhere to ‘classical’ humanitarian principles such as neutrality, impartiality and independence. Second, I make a sociological argument: that the activities of humanitarian nutrition have been shaped by a number of themes, which include militarism, medicine, modernity, and markets. Third, I make a historical argument: that the main features of humanitarian nutrition were solidified between the 1930s and the 1970s, and were largely in place by the time of the Biafran war. Fourth, I make a sociological argument: that these mid-century changes involved a profound redefinition of hunger and food (with hunger conceived as a biochemical deficiency, and food as a collection of nutrients). Finally, I make a normative argument, suggesting that this redefinition has not necessarily benefited the starving: the provision of food in emergencies, I argue, is often concerned with control and efficiency rather than the suffering individuals themselves.

Uppsatsen undersöker två svenska socknar kring nödåret 1867. Syftet är att se de direkta och varierande konsekvenserna av en missväxt. Socknarna är Vilhelmina i Norrland och Döderhult i Småland och den avgränsade tidsperioden är 1865-1870. Undersökningen har gjorts utifrån församlingarnas kyrkoarkiv samt Statistiska Centralbyråns (SCB) befolkningsstatistik. Forskningsläget visar på varierande konsekvenser av nödåren 1867-1869 och ett tydligt samband med en ökad emigration till Nordamerika, men det finns ingen liknande jämförelse på mikronivå som detta arbete kan visa. I uppsatsen finns en översikt över Sverige på 1860-talet, missväxtåren samt en beskrivning över Vilhelmina och Döderhult. Stapeldiagram presenterar de två socknarnas födda, döda, utflyttade, emigrerade samt totala befolkningsmängd. Vad undersökningen kommer fram till är en negativ men icke dramatisk befolkningsutveckling som skiljer sig åt mellan de två socknarna, framförallt vad gäller emigrationerna. / This essay focuses on two swedish parishes before, during and after the famine in Sweden 1867. The purpose is to see the direct and varying impacts by crop failures. The parishes are Vilhelmina in northern Sweden and Döderhult in southern Sweden. The delimited period is 1865-1870. The study was made based on the parishes' church archives and statistics from Statistiska Centralbyrån (SCB). Previous research shows various impacts by the crop failures 1867-1869 and a clear relationship with the following mass emigrations to North America. But there is no previous comparison on a micro level and between these two different geographical areas which this essay has done. The essay gives an overview about the crop failures, Sweden in the 1860's and facts about Vilhelmina and Döderhult. Statistic bars display the number of deceased, born, expatriates, emigrants and total population. The conclusion of the study is a  negative but not dramatic evolvement of the populations, and with differences between the parishes, particularly regarding the emigrations