‘Re-envisioning Global Humanitarian Response, is the last webinar in our 2019/2020 series. The speakers explore key and emerging humanitarian challenges. Including the impact of Covid-19 and considering what shifts in discourse and practice, approaches to innovation, accountability, and power relationships might be necessary to address situations of crisis,
This blog was orginally posted on the Diplomatic Courier Deaths in Afghanistan due to the coronavirus could potentially exceed the total number of civilians killed during the past two decades of conflict. As of April 22, Afghanistan had 1,178 confirmed cases compared to 840 seven days earlier,
How will Remittances Affect the Somali Covid-19 Response? By Nisar Majid and Laura Hammond, with Nauja Kleist, Khalif Abdirahman and Guhad Adan This blog iwas orginally published on the SOAS Research and Evidence Facility project site and the Conflict Research Programme at the London School of Economics Photo by
Food is central to power. Food has influenced power relations through land grabs and the manipulation of food aid as part of a system of political patronage, and through looting, displacement and diversion of aid by soldiers, warlords and militia. It has played a role in how countries are
Expanding the Rules of Engagement In sector jargon, the concept of “community engagement” (CE) refers to a process of interaction and exchange between an aid agency and a community. To my ear, that sounds more like gathering intelligence, or conducting market research. Closer to a modern day ‘getting
Last Wednesday Dr Claudia Seymour presented her new book, “The Myth of International Protection. War and Survival in Congo” as part of the Centre for Migration and Diaspora Studies seminar series. The discussion was led by Prof Laura Hammond, and attended by students and staff from across the
Dr Bilge Sahin has recently finished her PhD in the Department of Development Studies and is now a lecturer at Abant Izzet Baysal University, Turkey. Bilge’s thesis examines international assistance to DR Congo’s judiciary. While not specifically about humanitarian action, Bilge’s thesis places international intervention in context by
19 August is World Humanitarian Day. To mark this day, we arranged a discussion between SOAS Director, Baroness Valerie Amos, and some of our students. In our discussion we covered issues of conflict prevention, aid conditionality and effectiveness, dilemmas and contradictions and diplomacy. This discussion is part of
In the sixth episode of the humanitarian hub podcast, Tayba Ahmed talks with Dr Natalie Roberts about her role as Head of Emergencies with MSF. Dr Natalie draws our attention to the ongoing Ebola epidemic in the DRC, while also, bringing to light, the cohort of actors involved
This week’s guest blogger, Ed Martin, considers ‘The politics of providing humanitarian support to migrants.’ He is currently completing his MSc in Migration, Mobility, and Development at SOAS. Before coming to SOAS, I was living in Marrakech, Morocco. The city had a history of hosting West and Central