Humanitarianism and Related Controversies Essay

Humanitarianism as a Politics of Life

This article closely discusses how humanitarian intervention is run in a similar manner to politics. The arguments made herein make a lot sense since they are supported by illustration of humanitarian intervention missions that are public knowledge.

I agree with the author that humanitarian interventions in many cases involve weighing risks. The making of decision is complicated by the fact that these actions involve saving lives and losing lives – the stakes are always high. I also agree that humanitarian intervention has helped to show that all lives are sacred and ought to be preserved. It is also surprising that even within humanitarian intervention bodies politics is played on how the staff members are handled. This article is thought provoking and its opinions are worth considering in international relations issues especially where humanitarian interventions are in question.

The Politics of Naming: Genocide, Civil War, And Insurgency

This article shows the difference in action that names may carry. By substituting the name ‘genocide’ with ‘insurgency’ or ‘civil war’ a big difference is created in how the international community is likely to react. In this article, the illustration of the Darfur crisis is examined. International forces are shown to play the politics of naming this crisis in order to meet selfish and greedy ends.

I find this article critical and informative. It clearly shows how names can condemn civilians to continuously suffer because the name given to the calamity they face does not call for attention or urgent action. I like the objective which the paper brings out which is to call for sincerity in situation which require intervention without necessarily going through the politics of naming.

Humanitarianism

This article presents a number of criticisms against humanitarian bodies. The criticism especially focuses on how these bodies work. However, it is worth noting that these bodies are often faced with very complex situations which require detailed ethical considerations.

I identify with the challenging situations as described in this article. No single action is simple to take as it has its set of limitations. The complication with humanitarian bodies is magnified by the fact that it involves choosing between those who are to be saved and who are not to be saved. This is a hard task which can be quite emotionally sucking. Although this article raises many questions on how humanitarian bodies operate, I am of the opinion that these bodies have done some good work to be reckoned with.

Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving?

This article examines weather there are any justification, from the anthropological point of view, for military intervention, for example as it is in Afghanistan, to save women. The author does not support such interventions and instead argues that there is need for appreciation of difference cultures.

I admire the opinions in this paper and believe that different cultures should be respected and upheld. However, the article seems to assume that there are some cases whereby women are abused and therefore that constitute human right abuse. Though the article calls for the need to appreciate the fact that women in the world have different histories and therefore different backgrounds, it is not hard to point out where culture stops and abuse takes over. The article views the war to save Afghan women as war sustained by oil interests.

Works Cited

Abu-Lughod, Lila. “Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving? Anthropological Reflections on Cultural Relativism and Its Others.” American Anthropologist, vol. 104, no. 3, 2002, pp. 783–90.

Barnett, Michael, and Thomas G. Weiss. “Humanitarianism: A Brief History of the Present.” Humanitarianism in Question: Politics, Power, Ethics, 1st ed., Cornell University Press, 2008, pp. 1–48.

Fassin, Didier. “Humanitarianism as a Politics of Life.” Public Culture, vol. 19, no. 3, 2007, pp. 499–520, doi:10.1215/08992363-2007-007.

Mamdani, Mahmood. “The Politics of Naming: Genocide, Civil War, Insurgency.” London Review of Books, vol. 29, no. 5, 2007, Web.