International Relief Agencies Research Articles

Patterns of hurricane induced displacement in The Bahamas: Building equitable resilience in small island developing states

The extent and severity of disaster displacement in small island developing states (SIDS) often go unreported or underreported in global assessments due to the total number of affected people falling below established thresholds. Additionally, post-disaster assessments prepared by various international relief agencies often present conflicting evidence, and largely do not offer substantial insights into national and subnational spatial and temporal patterns of displacement, particularly with respect to the disproportionate risk that certain localities, communities and populations face over time. This article is a case study of hurricane induced displacement in a Caribbean SIDS – The Bahamas. It triangulates data from a publicly-available global disaster database, weather and post-disaster reports from national government departments and agencies, and newspaper articles. Its qualitative-dominant synthesis represents the best available evidence of hurricane risk across the archipelago between 2004 and 2019, organized according to hazard (winds, storm surge, flooding), exposure (people, livelihoods, assets etc. adversely affected), and vulnerability (the propensity or predisposition for adverse impacts). It finds that 11 hurricanes across three periods caused displacement in one or more of the 17 major islands. In identifying the emerging spatial and temporal patterns, it proposes two alternative core-periphery models for The Bahamas. These models not only provide a more accurate account of the islands’ exposure and sensitivity to hurricanes, but also highlight the geographical factors that should be considered as the basis for future plans, actions, strategies or policies that seek to build equitable resilience to these and other climate-amplified hydrometeorological events in SIDS.

Food and Revolution: Fighting Hunger in Nicaragua, 1960–1993

This new book by historian Christiane Berth takes a fresh look at the Nicaraguan Revolution (1979–90) through the lens of food culture and policy. Her study makes a welcome contribution to the existing literature on revolutionary food policy by shedding light on food security matters over the several decades leading up to the revolution and during the revolution itself, explaining how these were consequential for the ultimate success of the revolutionary project. The novelty of Berth's approach is twofold: on the one hand, she broadens the analysis of (pre)revolutionary food politics to include international relief agencies, and, on the other hand, she places Nicaraguan consumers at the center of her analysis.The main premise of the book is that “insufficient access to food contributed to the rise and demise of the Nicaraguan Revolution” (5). Berth develops this thesis over six chronological chapters, followed by a seventh chapter that explores the unique food history of the Caribbean Coast and an epilogue that provides a look at more recent developments in the area of food policy. The first few chapters focus on early efforts by Central American development organizations to document malnutrition and hunger in Nicaragua in the 1950s and 1960s and the failure of the Somoza government to meaningfully respond to growing food insecurity, which ultimately helped to boost opposition to the regime. Access to food became a significant issue in the 1970s, particularly for low-income Nicaraguans, due to a number of factors, including waning Alliance for Progress food aid, low harvests resulting in dependence on expensive food imports, increasing urbanization, and the government's mismanagement of international aid funds following the 1972 earthquake that destroyed much of Managua. Against this backdrop, local food cultures were shifting as middle- and upper-income Nicaraguans increasingly preferred locally produced processed and fast foods and imported luxury foods. Influenced by discourses on US imperialism, revolutionaries rejected the growing influence of Americanized food cultures in favor of personal austerity in solidarity with low-income communities.Upon the success of the revolution in 1979, the revolutionary government, led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), prioritized food security as a critical component of the revolutionary project. Through an innovative package of policy reforms and public programs, the FSLN government sought to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by promoting self-sufficiency and traditional Nicaraguan foods. International cooperation and relief agencies worked with the government and local actors to realize these goals. However, as Berth argues, these measures ultimately underestimated the food preferences and demands of a diverse national constituency that included urban and rural consumers as well as the unique food cultures of Caribbean Coast communities.By the mid-1980s, Nicaragua found itself in a crippling economic crisis, leading to food scarcity and, in response, the increasing importation of food that weakened the revolution's goal of food self-sufficiency. Despite attempts by the revolutionary government to galvanize support for the revolutionary food project, these efforts were derailed by disproportionate access to food across geographic regions and social groups. As Berth notes, “Nicaraguan consumers' dissatisfaction over food insecurity turned into overall disillusionment with the revolutionary project in 1988” (145). With the success of opposition candidate Violeta Chamorro in the 1990 presidential election came the end of the revolution and the beginning of neoliberalism. However, Berth asserts that the period of transition to the new government was one of continuity and not a sharp break, given the FSLN's adoption of austerity policies beginning in 1986 to stabilize the economy. Furthermore, she argues that hunger and malnutrition had been growing during the later years of the revolution and continued to do so into the early 1990s. In this context, Nicaragua remained dependent on food aid while elites promoted US models of consumption, and imported goods once again became popular.A key strength of Berth's analysis is that it provides a comprehensive historical portrait of change (and continuity) in the national food regime as well as a nuanced understanding of the roles of international aid and relief agencies and their interactions with the government and local actors. Furthermore, the chapter on the Caribbean Coast is an appreciated addition because, as Berth points out, it is often overlooked in studies on food policy in Nicaragua. That said, readers may find the structure of the book curious. While the epilogue on more contemporary debates over food security and sovereignty is timely, the book lacks a concluding chapter to pull together the various strands of inquiry examined in the book. This does not diminish the important contribution of this book in terms of its scope of inquiry, however, and the epilogue in fact opens the door for future scholarship that examines, for example, the ways in which history may in fact be repeating itself in Nicaragua.

From POW to Cold War DP: A Global Microhistory of Former Yugoslav Soldiers in Occupied Germany, 1946–48

AbstractThere are still many historical blind spots in research on Europe's displaced persons (DPs) after the Second World War. In particular, there are relatively few studies that link microhistorical perspectives on repatriation and resettlement with global contexts. This essay addresses this gap, in empirical as well as methodological terms, by focusing on a group of DPs that hitherto has received little attention from scholars: former members of the Royal Yugoslav Army, whom the Nazis had taken to Germany as prisoners of war (POWs). Classified as DPs after 1945, they lived in camps administered by the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) and the International Refugee Organization (IRO). Under the circumstances, they continued to maintain military-like routines and fiercely refused repatriation. This was partly an expression of loyalty to the exiled Yugoslav king, Peter II. But it also mirrored the fears of DPs about—and resistance to the idea of—being returned to their homeland in the context of the early Cold War. Using the example of a DP camp in Bad Aibling (Upper Bavaria), this article connects Yugoslav DPs, Allied DP politics, and the interests of Tito's government, as well as the interventions of international relief agencies. It shows how some DPs adroitly subverted the international logic of DP self-governance as promoted by UNRRA. A global microhistory approach thus reveals how local actors and sites are shaped by, but also foundationally constitutive of, global regimes of migrational self-governance.

Afghanistan Nation-Building and Missed Critical Element of Unifying Ideology

Afghanistan Nation-Building and Missed Critical Element of Unifying Ideology Sayed Hassan Akhlaq (bio) Introduction This study introduces a crucial ingredient missing from the processes of nation-building in Afghanistan. It consists of six sections. The first discusses the concept of "nation" in the context of Afghanistan. The next section, "Nation-building from the 'Iron Amir' to the strange irony of new Taliban" surveys the dynamic effects of Islamization, centralization of government, reformation, leftism, Islamists, and the Taliban, on nation-building in Afghanistan. Discussion in the following section 'Afghanistan from 2001-2021' pays a close attention to the recent process of nation-building in Afghanistan by international aid and relief agencies. The two following sections discuss the nature of significance of an integrative ideology to build a nation and its intrinsic nature in Afghanistan. The section titled "The key missing ingredient," arguing for the necessity of an integrative ideology examines competing meanings of ideology. The "The Integrative [End Page 51] Ideology" develops an evaluation of the character of theology, politics, social mores, and culture in Afghanistan. This review of Afghan culture, values, and traditions shows the important role of curious pragmatism, moderation, and morality as the foundation for a unique Afghan ideology, to unify and persuade Afghans to build their nation. This leads to rejecting the popular portrayals of Afghanistan as the land of radicalism, tribalism, and xenophobia. This inter-disciplinary study relies on published literature in English and Persian on Afghanistan, nation-building, and personal experiences of the author. The Background During the late eighteenth century, the term "nation" developed as a political concept, and some individuals and groups were classified as "nationalists." In 1789, the anti-Jacobin French priest Augustin Barruel used the term "nationalism" for the first time in print. Classical political nationalism claimed the right of a people—a nation—to their own state, creating the overlap of nationality and citizenship. In the same period, Ahmad Shah Durrani (1722-1773), the "baba," or father brought political life to a new realm, the Kingdom of Afghanistan. Over the next century Afghans developed their understanding of the modern concepts of state and nation. The military confrontation with the European imperialism of the Russian Tsar and the British resulted in deformed concepts of a nation-state. Asta Olesen, a specialist in social development in Afghanistan wrote, this encounter with the Christian imperialist powers dramatically changed the Afghans' attitude toward the west and its fundamental concepts: They learned to mistrust all Europeans; to see the English and Russians not just as infidels but enemies; to reread Islam as a unifying force and means of mobilization, thereby creating Afghan xenophobia and cultural isolationism.1 Subsequently, Afghans pursued two developments through their following history: welcoming the Western concept of nation-state while staying alert to prevent the loss of cultural identity; and struggling to reconcile Islamism with local and ethnic traditions. Although Afghan Islamism developed as a defensive reaction to European imperialism, it also has its own roots and intellectual history. Afghans remember their historical contributions to global civilization: great scholars, artists, poets, Sufis, scholars, and scientists like al-Biruni (973-1048), Avicenna (980-1037), Ali Hujwiri or Data Ganj Bakhsh (1009-1077), Nasir Khusraw (1004-1088), Hakim Sanai (1080-1131), Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273), [End Page 52] and Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (1838-1897) to mention a few. Afghans contributed greatly to Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, philosophy, Islamic theology (Kalaam), Persian literature, Sufism, art, medicine, astronomy, geography, and geodesy. However, Islamic intellectual contributions declined in the second half of its long history. Afghanistan particularly suffered from two events: First, the conflict between the Shi'a Safavids versus the Sunni Mughal Empire and against the Uzbeks in the north isolated Afghanistan. Second, the discovery of the sea route to India caused the decline of profitable and culturally enriching trade through Afghanistan. The Shi'ism of the Safavids moved Afghan literature, and in some extent religious scholarship, from its Persian roots toward Indian connections. The loss of long-distance trade weakened the flourishing urban culture of Afghanistan. In result, the economic and political center of gravity moved toward the countryside and the large landowners – an essential factor in the formation of the...

Inter-agency collaboration and disaster management: A case study of the 2005 earthquake disaster in Pakistan.

In post disastrous situations, coordinated and integrated interventions aimed at relief and rehabilitation not only help facilitate reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion but also pave the way to channel scarce and valued resources towards end users in an efficient and effective manner. This article attempts to trace the origins and gradual development of ‘inter-agency collaboration’ and the implications thereof for disaster management strategies in Pakistan through an analysis of relief and rehabilitation interventions undertaken by the Government of Pakistan in collaboration with local and international Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) and relief agencies in the ex post of the 2005 earthquake. Data for this study were collected through structured and semi-structured interviews from government officials, representatives of NGOs and relief agencies and ordinary women and men in the earthquake stricken localities of Balakot and Mansehra districts of Pakistan. On the heels of the 2005 earthquake, both local NGOs and faith-based organisations in concert with international NGOs and relief agencies from around the world rushed to assist Pakistan in it’s rescue and relief operations at a time when the country was faced with the twin dilemma of both the non-existence of peculiar institutional arrangements for disaster management and a lack of the necessary technical and financial resources. The aftermath of the 2005 earthquake offered opportunity to the Government of Pakistan and the NGOs and relief agencies alike to transform their individual interventions into a robust and organised ‘inter-agency collaboration’, which was later on realised in the form of establishment of a national disaster management organisation called the ‘Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA)’. The establishment of ERRA not only paved the way for avoiding duplication and wastage of resources but also ensued in reaching out to the affected communities in a timely fashion. The Pakistani case offers implications in terms of highlighting the salience of establishing ‘inter-agency collaboration’ in other settings.

Human Rights Bulletin

This bulletin considers the situation of children with disabilities in Ukraine, who at the time of the onset of the armed conflict were living in institutional care. DRI investigations have revealed that despite abundant international assistance, the government of Ukraine and international relief agencies have failed to ensure the safety and protect the lives of these children within institutions – or to ensure their safe return to families in the community.

Addressing psychiatric care in conflict zones: recommendations for the Arab region.

The Arab world has struggled with conflict and political turmoil for several decades, rendering its already underdeveloped mental healthcare system unable to serve the psychiatric needs of victims of violence and trauma, with consequences that extend far beyond the cessation of hostilities. This role has become incumbent on international relief agencies, which have expanded mental health programmes in countries of conflict and refuge. Although their intervention has overall been positive, their mission is usually short term, leaving countries unable to maintain these advantages when the funding ends. The authors advocate for a sustainable framework that emphasises a larger role for regional and local actors. Expertise that is culturally and socially grounded could take the initiative in research, training and deployment in collaboration with non-governmental organisations, allowing for comprehensive development of the mental health sector.

Rev. of The Best Possible Immigrants: International Adoption and the American Family by Rachel Rains Winslow

Reviewed by: Rev. of The Best Possible Immigrants: International Adoption and the American Family by Rachel Rains Winslow Kira A. Donnell (bio) Rev. of The Best Possible Immigrants: International Adoption and the American Family RACHEL RAINS WINSLOW. U of Pennsylvania P, 2017. 312 pp. $45.50 (Hardback) ISBN: 9780812249101. In The Best Possible Immigrants, historian Rachel Rains Winslow argues that the rise in popularity of international adoption in the United States following World War II arose because it was in the interest of a variety of actors, agencies, and agendas to promote international adoption as a method of American immigration and family-making. By examining the objectives of governments, social welfare professionals, volunteers, national and local media, adoptive parents, and prospective adoptive parents, Winslow traces the histories of American international adoption from Greece, South Korea, and South Vietnam to demonstrate how international adoption "evolved beyond an episodic response to crises in the 1940s to become an enduring and embedded American institution by the 1970s" (2). Winslow makes several important interventions in the history of international adoption in the United States. First, she places the origins of American international adoption in Europe following World War II. She highlights the European roots of international adoption practices that are often overlooked by adoption studies scholars who focus their attention on the larger and more well-known cohorts of international adoptees from Asia, who arrived in the United States during the Cold War era. Secondly, Winslow identifies four distinct but overlapping paradigms that explain the multiple and often contradicting motives social welfare workers, government agencies, humanitarians, and adoptive parents had in promoting international adoption in the United States. The consumer adoption paradigm "applied market solutions to a social problem" and approached adoption from the view that well-connected persons such as doctors and midwives, and entities such as [End Page 265] for-profit organizations could proctor adoptions in a consumer-driven system to meet the flourishing demand for adoptable children (5). In contrast and in response to the consumer paradigm, the child welfare paradigm of adoption stressed the "best interests of the child" and advocated for the use of experts and professionals in social work to process adoptions in order to ensure an optimal placement for children, based on social psychology. As a relief-based strategy, the humanitarian paradigm focused on the altruism associated with child rescue. Popularized by celebrated media coverage, humanitarian-driven adoption was "far from a utilitarian pairing of a needy child with a family," but instead touted the moral, religious, and philanthropic motives for adopting (6). The humanitarian paradigm used by some international relief agencies shifted by the mid-1960s to the development paradigm, which encouraged countries in the developing world to become self-sufficient and "modernized." This paradigm prioritized the restoration of a developing country's domestic social welfare infrastructures. Rather than providing temporary aid through permanent international adoption placements, the development paradigm sought to establish social welfare systems in home countries that could address child welfare needs in the long term. These four postwar adoption paradigms highlight how international adoption used different strategies of purported child-saving to promote state interests. As such, the private and the public, the political and the altruistic, the family and the nation are, according to Winslow, inherently entwined in the foundations of the institution of international adoption. Finally, Winslow calls attention to the role of voluntarism in the shaping of American international adoption practices. Throughout her study, Winslow demonstrates how voluntarism—on a large scale and at the individual level—remained essential in the steering of international adoption practices and policies. She shows how the US international adoption system continually extended authority and funding to individuals and agencies "on-the-ground" to provide aid to children, who "remain the most worthy subjects of foreign relief" (220). Winslow argues that volunteers were essential in the establishing, expanding, and maintaining America's international adoption systems in which the boundaries between the public and the private continually intersected, blurred, and converged. The Best Possible Immigrants navigates a chronological and site-specific account of America's international adoption history. From Greece to South Korea to South Vietnam, Winslow demonstrates how the sanctioning of international adoption has...

Breast Cancer Management Among Refugees and Forcibly Displaced Populations: a Call to Action

The prevalence of breast cancer is rising among refugees and displaced populations worldwide, and late-stage diagnosis has contributed to poor health outcomes in these populations. With a specific focus on the Middle East and Lebanon in particular, we discuss the challenges associated with breast cancer prevention and treatment among refugees and displaced populations and highlight priorities for urgent and needed action. In the Middle East, a complex interplay of social, cultural, economic, and political factors results in delayed diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer among displaced populations. For most displaced women, the most extensive barriers to care are related to cost, transportation, stigma, inadequate cancer education, and a lack of knowledge of and difficulty accessing a host country’s health system. As a result of a lack of attention, limited finances, and insufficient support from humanitarian organizations and host governments, refugees and displaced populations with or at risk for breast cancer in the Middle East face significant barriers to accessing support, preventative care, and treatment resources. Breast cancer has yet to become a priority for international relief agencies and host governments in part due to misperceptions that breast cancers consistently present with poor prognoses and are too costly to treat. With the burden of breast cancer and the number of displaced individuals across the world both rising, host governments and the international community must reconsider and develop new strategies for breast cancer prevention and treatment.

Health Challenges in Refugee Reception: Dateline Europe 2016.

The arrival of more than one million migrants, many of them refugees, has proved a major test for the European Union. Although international relief and monitoring agencies have been critical of makeshift camps in Calais and Eidomeni where infectious disease and overcrowding present major health risks, few have examined the nature of the official reception system and its impact on health delivery. Drawing upon research findings from an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project, this article considers the physical and mental health of asylum–seekers in transit and analyses how the closure of borders has engendered health risks for populations in recognised reception centres in Sicily and in Greece. Data gathered by means of a survey administered in Greece (300) and in Sicily (400), and complemented by in-depth interviews with migrants (45) and key informants (50) including representatives of government offices, humanitarian and relief agencies, NGOs and activist organisations, are presented to offer an analysis of the reception systems in the two frontline states. We note that medical provision varies significantly from one centre to another and that centre managers play a critical role in the transmission of vital information. A key finding is that, given such disparity, the criteria used by the UNHCR to grade health services reception do not address the substantive issue that prevent refugees from accessing health services, even when provided on site. Health provision is not as recorded in UNHCR reporting but rather there are critical gaps between provision, awareness, and access for refugees in reception systems in Sicily and in Greece. This article concludes that there is a great need for more information campaigns to direct refugees to essential services.

WCDRR and the CEOS activities on disaters

Abstract. Agencies from CEOS (Committee on Earth Observation Satellites) have traditionally focused their efforts on the response phase. Rapid urbanization and increased severity of weather events has led to growing economic and human losses from disasters, requiring international organisations to act now in all disaster risk management (DRM) phases, especially through improved disaster risk reduction policies and programmes. As part of this effort, CEOS agencies have initiated a series of actions aimed at fostering the use of Earth observation (EO) data to support disaster risk reduction and at raising the awareness of policy and decision-makers and major stakeholders of the benefits of using satellite EO in all phases of DRM. CEOS is developing a long-term vision for sustainable application of satellite EO to all phases of DRM. CEOS is collaborating with regional representatives of the DRM user community, on a multi-hazard project involving three thematic pilots (floods, seismic hazards and volcanoes) and a Recovery Observatory that supports resilient recovery from one major disaster. These pilot activities are meant as trail blazers that demonstrate the potential offered by satellite EO for comprehensive DRM. In the framework of the 2015 3rd World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (WCDRR), the CEOS space agencies intend to partner with major stakeholders, including UN organizations, the Group on Earth Observations (GEO), international relief agencies, leading development banks, and leading regional DRM organisations, to define and implement a 15-year plan of actions (2015- 2030) that responds to high-level Post-2015 Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction priorities. This plan of action will take into account lessons learned from the CEOS pilot activities.

Security, Economy and the Modes of Refugees’ Livelihood Pursuit: Focus on Karen Refugees in Thailand

:This article is a case study of Burmese Karen refugees residing in refugee camps in Thailand. It examines how the relations between a host government and international relief agencies are shaped by the issues of security and economy and how these issues consequently affect the livelihoods of refugees. The study divides the history of Karen refugees into three periods: 1984 to 1995, 1995 to 2005, and 2005 to 2011. The influences on the government’s attitude toward refugees and toward the international relief agencies are identified for each period and the modes of the refugees’ livelihood are examined. The study contends that the host government’s concerns about security and economy are key factors shaping the government’s refugee policies, relations between the government and international relief agencies, and the mode of refugees’ pursuit of a livelihood. When security issues are dominant, the attitude of the government toward international relief agencies is negative and consequently the refugees’ options are restricted. In contrast, when economic issues are dominant, the government takes a positive stance toward international relief agencies, which play a bigger role, and the welfare of refugees improves.

Politics of wartime relief in Ottoman Beirut (1914–1918)

By the early spring of 1915, grain and flour shortages had become a serious issue in the Greater Syrian provinces of the Ottoman Empire, and culminated into a full-fledged famine that would claim the lives of approximately one-third of population by the time Allied troops began occupying the region in October 1918. In the Ottoman provincial capital Beirut, food scarcities quickly became a matter of life and death, as the city became a gathering point for thousands of destitute refugees from miles around. In light of the tragedy, humanitarians rushed to provide aid to those in need. The historiography of wartime relief in the Ottoman Empire generally has focused on the well-documented international efforts in the Anatolian provinces, and in particular the tremendous work of foreign missionaries and relief organizations, such as the Near East Relief and the Red Cross. This focus on international relief agencies, no doubt, obscures the fact that humanitarian relief workers indeed operated in a crowded and competitive field. Taking Beirut as a case study, this paper shifts the gaze away from international organizations and analyses the politics of wartime relief from the perspective of state and local actors, which until now has received little attention. Considering the context of war and famine, this does not come as a surprise, since the memory of relief work in the city has long been overshadowed by the horrors of starvation and disease and written off as inconsequential and unsuccessful. Moreover, the legacy of Ottoman military dictatorship, notably its cruel policies culminating in the public execution of prominent Arab notables and intellectuals, left little room to consider the role of Ottoman officials in providing wartime relief. However, this study reveals that locally stationed Ottoman officials were not only concerned with civilian provisioning, but also engaged in a fierce political battle with local and international actors in an effort to monopolize the distribution of money and food. To prevent citizens from forming alternate political loyalties in response to services and goods received from extra-state actors, Ottoman policy was to eliminate potential competitors and substitute its own state-sponsored alternatives. This paper argues that the ability to distribute aid in the city was mediated by nationality, political affiliation and not the least gender, and would have long-lasting effects. First, wartime Ottoman policies of marginalizing non-governmental urban philanthropy significantly altered the relationship of the state with its citizens, permanently shifting citizens' social welfare demands away from communal institutions towards the state. Second, the privileging of female volunteerism through the Syrian Women's Association (jam˓iyat al-sayyidat al-suriyat), while illustrating the state's attitude of women as apolitical subjects, whose work was seen as unthreatening and incapable of inspiring divergent allegiances, would prove to be the beginning of a politicization of women's charities and inspired a new political consciousness.

Socio-spatial occupation, conflict and humanitarian assistance for Bororo cross-border migrants in east Cameroon

Purpose – This paper aims to examine the socio-political factors and the influence of spatial reconfiguration and transformation orchestrated by the forceful migration of Bororo herdsmen – a nomadic ethnic group from the Central African Republic into east Cameroon where they are now subsistent farmers. This livelihood transition strategy led to conflict and competition over natural resources with the local inhabitants. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws from ethnographic interviews and participant observation involving security officials and international relief agencies alongside their implementing partners. Data abducted from various stakeholders were further complemented by reports produced by various humanitarian agencies and desk research – evaluation and reinterpretation of what others have written on pastoral peoples. Findings – The paper suggests that humanitarian agencies be aware of “transnational borderland identities” by considering the specificity of particular borderland regions-isolation, underdevelopment and prone to conflict in crises of forced migration. They further need to move from a spatialized “refugee-centric” approach to the conversion of refugee relief into local development projects for refugee hosting areas. Research limitations/implications – While the problem of resource use conflict caused by the influx of refugees might be local, it highlights regional and global security concerns and articulates the growing recognition of political and environmental factors for national and international security. Originality/value – The study articulates the need to shift from a spatialized “refugee-centric” regime that directs attention only to one category of social actors in an emergency situation to a more integrative assistance programme so as to erase the fake division of identities as well as to acknowledge the importance of a “border identity” for a more peaceful development aimed at achieving better social interaction between hosts and refugees. While the problem of resource use conflict caused by the influx of refugees might be local, it highlights regional and global security concerns and articulates the growing recognition of political and environmental factors for national and international security.

Between National Socialism and Soviet Communism: Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany by Anna Holian (review)

Reviewed by: Between National Socialism and Soviet Communism: Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany by Anna Holian Jay Howard Geller Between National Socialism and Soviet Communism: Displaced Persons in Postwar Germany. By Anna Holian. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2011. Pp. vii + 367. Cloth $85.00. ISBN 978-0472117802. Though a large body of scholarship has already examined various groups within the diverse and disunified community of displaced persons (DPs) in postwar Germany, with this book Anna Holian presents a comparative study of four of the largest groups: Poles, Ukrainians, Russians, and Jews in American-occupied Bavaria. She argues that the key to understanding how they viewed themselves, their recent experiences, and their future lives was their “competing interpretations of the Second World War” and, in particular, their “stories about National Socialism and Soviet communism.” Ethno-national communities became highly politicized and put forth specific “representations of the past and visions of the future” (2). Among Jewish DPs, the dominant narrative was a Zionist one, which considered the previous years as the culmination of a long history of antisemitic persecution, necessitating a rejection of Diaspora life and fueling the desire for a Jewish state in Palestine. Fellow DPs who were not Jewish, including Poles, Ukrainians, and Russians, were seen not as allies but rather as former persecutors. For their part, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian DPs “viewed German national chauvinism, not antisemitism or racism, as the core of the National Socialist project” (4). Their primary concern during the immediate postwar years was, however, not with Nazism but rather with Soviet communism. Not surprisingly, anticommunism emerged as their dominant political sentiment. Non-Jewish DP groups offered explicitly political explanations for their opposition to repatriation, with nationalism and anticommunism closely intertwined. Poles opposed “Russian” occupation and communism, Ukrainians opposed Russian and Polish “occupation,” and Russians perceived the Bolsheviks as “un-Russian” rulers of the motherland. Despite the differences among these narratives, all of the non-Jewish groups promoted their identity as refugees from communism more than as victims of Nazism; moreover, Ukrainians, Russians, and especially Poles all prepared for a [End Page 215] life in exile. While Jewish DPs were no supporters of Sovietization, they stressed the wartime experience and did not join the others in their overt anticommunism, in part because the other groups’ leaders often employed antisemitic and far-right rhetoric. Even though DPs established a multitude of associations to represent their interests vis-à-vis the American occupiers, international relief agencies, and, ultimately, the German authorities, relations remained rocky. The Germans increasingly restricted the categories for restitution and reparations, and even though Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian DPs shared the anticommunism of many Germans, their involvement in German politics met with ambivalence, if not hostility. Concomitantly, the DPs’ focus was increasingly on their homelands. They wished to influence politics in their ancestral or sentimental home—not in Germany, the country that served as their actual, though likely temporary, home. Over time, “home” became more of an idea than an actual place, as the idealized vision of their homeland bore little resemblance to actual conditions there. They failed to have an impact on political and social conditions in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia, but the DPs did strive to establish definitions of what it meant to be a Pole, Ukrainian, or Russian in exile. Adding more nuance to the conventional story of Jewish DPs, Holian argues that Zionism was neither the initial nor the most natural political philosophy for many in this group. It was considerably more popular among Polish and Lithuanian than among Hungarian and Czech Jews. Moreover, the first impulse for many Jews was to return home; however, amidst pogroms and continuing antisemitism, many Holocaust survivors soon realized the impossibility of re-establishing themselves in eastern Europe. A desire to emigrate became widespread, but the British ban on migration to Palestine caused many Jews to look for other options. Within occupied Germany, the Americans’ DP policy, including recognition of the Jews as a separate nationality, strengthened the Zionist camp, and Zionist activists were the best organized within the Jewish DP community. A third group—political prisoners—also engaged in DP politics. Like the Jews, they had been in concentration camps and death...

The Puzzle of a Loyal Minority: Why Do Azeris Support the Iranian State?

Ever since its inception, the state of Iran has been pressed with the challenge of integrating the multiple ethnic identities that make up its plural society. In contrast to a number of other minorities like the Kurds and the Baluchis, the Azeris have shown loyalty to the Iranian state to the surprise of foreign scholars and policy makers. They have done so even in spite of a number of potentially favorable political and economic conditions that could support the realization of national aspirations. This article addresses this puzzle: why, against seemingly favorable odds, have Iranian Azeris refrained from asserting their national ambitions and joining their newly independent kin north of the border? In an attempt to solve this puzzle, the paper will examine the triadic relationship among the Azeri minority in Iran, their home state (Iran), and their kin state (the Republic of Azerbaijan).The Islamic Republic of Iran is ethnically diverse. For centuries, Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Arabs, Baluchs, Turkmen, and other ethno-linguistic groups have been living alongside one another. Successive Iranian governments have always coped with this multi-ethnic society. Since there is no official data on the size of the ethno-linguistic groups, scholars have to rely on their own estimates and numbers provided by local non-governmental organizations and international relief agencies: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7% (Indo-European family, Iranic branch), Baluch 2%, Lur 2%, Turkmen 2% (Turkic family), Arab 3% (Semitic family), and others (mainly Armenians and Georgians) 1%.1 Despite their different linguistic and cultural backgrounds, the majority of these Iranian ethnic groups are native to Iran. While many Iranians also identify with specific religious, linguistic, or tribal groups, there is a pervasive idea that the inhabitants of the Iranian low-lands have a common, unique Persian heritage. In contrast to the diversity of its ethnic landscape, Iran is relatively homogenous in terms of religion: 90% of the population is Shi'i. Overlapping identi ties within Iran have posed political challenges to the regimes in the past. The country's Azeri and Kurdish populations have frequently agitated for more cultural freedom and a greater degree of local autonomy from Tehran. These two ethnic groups also have a geographically consolidated critical mass in neighboring states. Yet, one ethnic group has dominated the various minorities of Iran for centuries: ethnic Azeris.The Azeris differ from the majority Iranians in that they do not speak Persian. Rather, they speak Azeri (also known as Azeri-Turkic), a dialect of slightly Persianified Turkish. In reality, the most important aspect that creates binding commonalities is the Shi'a Islamic tradition that most Iranians share, and which does not extend far into the Caucases. The demographic potential of the Iranian Azeris attracts the attention of policymakers in Tehran, Washington, and Tel Aviv. The Azeri provinces have the highest number of industrial and trading facilities outside of Tehran. Although the area represents the Iranian bridge to Europe, with major transportation routes and large-scale energy projects, no pecuniary value can be credited to Iranian Azerbaijan. The significance of the Azeris to the rest of Iran is even more conspicuous when looking back at its controversial history. There are over 35 million Azeris in the world, of which around 15 million are believed to be living in Iran, around 8 million in the Republic of Azerbaijan, close to 2 million in Turkey, and about 2 million in Russia.2 In The Ancient History of Iranian Turks, Professor M.T. Zehtabi has argued that current Azeris descended from the ancient inhabitants of western Iran and the Caucasus.3 Historically, three different ethnic components have participated in the formation and the evolution of Azeri people: the Medes, who were mainly concentrated in southern Azerbaijan; the Aran-Albanese, who were living in the north; and the Turks, who lived in various parts of Azerbaijan. …

The New Internationalists: World Vision and the Revival of American Evangelical Humanitarianism, 1950–2010

International relief and development agencies consistently rank among the largest evangelical organizations, and in recent decades, they have gained increased exposure and influence within the greater humanitarian community. World Vision, the largest evangelical agency, is also the largest Christian humanitarian organization in the world. Themes of politics and culture wars have led many to scholars to categorize American evangelicals into distinct conservative and liberal parties. Yet the history of American evangelicals’ humanitarianism demonstrates how they often resisted such dichotomies. As evangelical humanitarian agencies expanded exponentially over the past five decades, they came to embrace a “holistic gospel” that helped shape evangelical mission debates concerning the relationship between evangelism and social action; they engaged international evangelicals that forced Americans to reconsider their own categories; and many modeled a practical ecumenism that allowed evangelicals to expand beyond a limited subculture to work alongside other religious and even secular NGOs. While other evangelical progressives fragmented over identity politics or remained tethered to small alterative communities, the leading aid agencies have achieved broad support across evangelicalism, making them some of the most influential voices.

The Modes of Livelihood Pursuits of the Burmese Karen Refugees in Thailand: Focus on the Impacts of Relations between the State, International Relief Agencies, and Local Society

The Modes of Livelihood Pursuits of the Burmese Karen Refugees in Thailand: Focus on the Impacts of Relations between the State, International Relief Agencies, and Local Society

Disempowerment through disconnection

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the relationship between local women's relief initiatives and international relief workers in Batticaloa, eastern Sri Lanka, during the post‐tsunami emergency.Design/methodology/approachInterviews with representatives from women's organizations in the tsunami‐affected town of Batticaloa, local and national nongovernment organizations (NGOs) based in Batticaloa, as well as international aid agencies are discussed in relation to theories on resilience, vulnerability, gender and humanitarianism.FindingsObserving that women in a disaster‐affected area often represent important knowledge and resources, this paper documents how international relief workers failed to connect and cooperate with local women's organizations in post‐tsunami Batticaloa. It suggests that the reasons behind the disconnection can be linked to “us and them” undercurrents of international relief work – the lingering remnants of a colonial heritage. The disconnection may have led to a disempowerment of local capacities, flaws in the international relief activities, and reduced resilience among Batticaloan women in relation to the Sri Lankan civil war.Research limitations/implicationsDespite a growing volume of policies and guidelines on the importance of involving local capacities, there are inadequacies in the way international relief agencies operatevis‐à‐visdisaster‐affected communities, including women's established relief networks.Practical implicationsThe paper points at some reasons why international relief organizations struggle to engage local women's resources in their emergency operations. It suggests that cultural, social, and linguistic barriers are among those that need to be addressed if relief workers are to provide effective and sustainable assistance to crisis‐affected communities.Originality/valueCoupling theories of resilience, vulnerability, gender, and humanitarianism, this paper argues that women in disaster‐affected areas must be involved in international relief operations in a way that reflects their actual knowledge and resources. Presenting original interview material and documents collected during the first six months of the post‐tsunami operation, as well as through a follow‐up study in 2008, the paper points at international aid agencies' apparent inability to acknowledge local women's resilience and take their capacities into account. It also points at some of the ways in which this compromised the effectiveness and sustainability of international relief work in post‐tsunami Batticaloa.

Somalia Famine: Another Predictable Disaster in the New Millennium

Somalia Famine: Another Predictable Disaster in the New Millennium