The humanitarian space in the European Union is shrinking, causing unnecessary suffering and preventable deaths, or is it? Humanitarian organisations are calling on the respect of principled humanitarian aid, protection of humanitarian workers and unhindered access to the affected population namely, undocumented asylum seekers.They are blaming the prioritisation of national security interests over humanitarian concerns as well as the politicisation of aid for the shrinking humanitarian space. In doing so, humanitarian organisations are becoming the primary obstacle in their appeal for a greater humanitarian space by misinterpreting it as a borderless, apolitical arena governed by supra-national laws. Through a single case study of the humanitarian border in the EU, this study seeks to analyse to what extent the humanitarian space in the EU is really shrinking. The three-fold enclosed humanitarian pyramid theoretically guides the critical analysis of the qualities and virtues that make up the humanitarian space as constructed in the humanitarian arena. Furthermore, acts of humanity are clearly defined as either belonging to the humanitarian or civic space, thereby further enforcing the borders of the humanitarian space. This study finds that the humanitarian space as the humanitarian pyramid is unable to shrink, it is built to overcome obstacles and external pressures. As it cannot shrink, so it cannot grow; it is either complete orabsent. Originally, the humanitarian space debate was employed to promote safe and accessible humanitarian assistance and protection for affected populations. Today, the discourse is employed by humanitarian organisations to promote the agency space while the needs of rights-based individuals seeking assistance and protection has become secondary. The affected population is rendered invisible through a crisis narrative, only to be made visible through a greater humanitarian space. Humanitarian organisations need to abandon false narratives of apolitical and borderless ideals,especially when working within violent borders, and train on political literacy to improve cooperation with states.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:uu-480998 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Primc, Karla |
| Publisher | Uppsala universitet, Teologiska institutionen |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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