Non-state humanitarianism: From Colonialism to Human Rights

从19世纪传教士和殖民官员的行动到最近西非萨赫勒地区的粮食危机，非国家人道主义已经成为国际行动的决定性特征之一。但是，人道主义援助如何利用其历史来应对当前的挑战和当今的规范？“非国家人道主义”网络在泛欧洲框架内调查人道主义的过去和对过去的利用，同时将其与来自全球南方的人道主义的其他观点结合起来。该网络以对话和合作的精神，将学术界和人道主义领域两种新兴的历史研究联系起来，在跨国历史背景下研究这些问题。该网络坚信，历史对因果关系和长期变化过程的关注对于理解社会文化变化的复杂动态是不可或缺的，因此有助于更深入地理解现代人道主义。它对现有的关于当代人道主义环境的大量内部和外部分析提供了历史性的补充。其广泛的参与者——来自海外发展研究所（ODI）和曼彻斯特大学人道主义和冲突应对研究所（HCRI）的网络合作伙伴——确保该网络及其产出利用各种现有的人道主义历史方法。为了实现其目标，该网络将来自英国和欧洲各地的参与者聚集在一起，参加一系列虚拟讨论组（通过网络网站、Twitter feed和电子邮件列表）和为期两天的研讨会。该网络的在线活动包括产生研究问题和专题群组；车间前文件的流通；以及在研讨会之前，中间和之后进行的讨论。研究生和早期职业研究人员的参与——以联机研究数据库的形式、在讲习班上的简短介绍以及与非政府组织对话和合作的机会——将有助于网络及其产出的可持续性。首届研讨会于2013年初在伯明翰大学（University of Birmingham）举行，主要围绕方法论问题展开：我们如何看待——以及应该如何看待——非国家人道主义的历史。第二次研讨会于2013年4月在都柏林大学学院举行，在关于档案最佳实践和这些档案对非政府组织和历史学家的价值的讨论中，探讨了人道主义历史的来源和用途。第三次研讨会于2013年9月在波茨坦ZZF举行，重点关注非国家人道主义研究框架的合作研究。其目的不仅是为这一主题创造一种连贯、协作的方法，而且要确保从一开始就嵌入其实际相关性和影响。最后一个研讨会是2013年12月孟买塔塔社会科学研究所和HCRI的参与者之间的一次联合会议（由网络会议设施提供便利），强调了来自全球南方的人道主义方法。它为网络参与者提供了一个审查和修改研究框架的机会，以考虑到全球（南方和北方）非国家人道主义的经验。最后一次讲习班的研究结果将为一篇概述人道主义历史的明确研究议程的文章提供信息，该文章将发表在一份主要的同行评议研究期刊上。它们将帮助构建该网络的另一项产出：根据选定的研讨会报告编辑的论文集。它们将为该网络在资助期之后的活动提供坚实的基础：作为未来跨国对话、讨论和合作研究的平台，并作为非政府组织领域学术和实践世界之间更紧密联系的基础。

From the actions of nineteenth century missionaries and colonial officials to the recent food crisis in the Sahel region of West Africa, non-state humanitarianism has become one of the defining characteristics of international action. But how can humanitarian aid draw on its history to respond to current challenges and present-day norms? The 'Non-state humanitarianism' network investigates humanitarianism's past and the uses of that past in a pan-European framework, while combining it with alternative perspectives of humanitarianism from the global South.The network connects two emerging strands of historical inquiry - from the academic world and from within the humanitarian sector - in a spirit of conversation and collaboration, to examine these questions in a transnational historical context. Building on the firm belief that history's focus on causality and long-term processes of change is indispensible for appreciating the complex dynamics of socio-cultural change, the network contributes a deeper understanding of modern humanitarianism. It provides an historical complement to the wealth of available analyses - internal and external - of the contemporary humanitarian environment. Its broad spectrum of participants - from network partners in the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and the University of Manchester Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute (HCRI) - ensures that the network and its outputs harness the variety of existing historical approaches to humanitarianism. To achieve its goals, the network brings together participants from across the UK and Europe in a series of virtual discussion groups (via the network website, Twitter feed and email list) and two-day workshops. The network's online activities include the generation of research questions and thematic clusters; the pre-workshop circulation of papers; and on-going discussion before, between, and after the workshops. The involvement of postgraduate and early career researchers - in the form of an online research database, short presentations at the workshops and opportunities for conversation and collaboration with NGOs - will contribute to the sustainability of the network and its outputs.The first of the workshops, at the University of Birmingham in early 2013, centres on the question of methodologies: how we approach - and should approach - the history of non-state humanitarianism. The second workshop, at University College Dublin in April 2013, explores sources and uses for humanitarian history in a discussion about archival best practice and the value of these archives for NGOs and historians.The third workshop, at ZZF Potsdam in September 2013, focuses on the co-production of a research framework for the study of non-state humanitarianism. Its aim is not only to create a coherent, collaborative approach to the subject, but also to ensure that its practical relevance and impact are embedded from the outset. The final workshop, a joint meeting (facilitated by web conferencing facilities) between participants at the TATA Institute of Social Science, Mumbai and at the HCRI in December 2013, emphasises approaches to humanitarianism from the global South. It provides an opportunity for network participants to review and revise the research framework to take account of the global (South and North) experience of non-state humanitarianism.The findings of this final workshop will inform an article outlining a clear research agenda for humanitarian history, to be published in a major peer-reviewed research journal. They will help frame another of the network's outputs: an edited volume of papers based on selected workshop presentations. And they will provide a strong foundation for the network's activities beyond the funding period: as a platform for future transnational conversation, discussion, and collaborative research, and as the basis for stronger ties between the academic and practical worlds of the NGO sector.