Historical Perspective & Emerging Trends on International Aid International Aid operates in almost every corner of the globe, is part of the transfer of billions of dollars of assistance through countless organizations, charities, and funds; and involves the efforts of hundreds of thousands of dedicated workers and affects billions of people. . This paper will provide a historical summary of how aid has grown and developed in stages, from a humanitarian concept first applied in the 19th century to established international policy and law following the Second World War and later the Cold War. We will review the impact of the wave of newly independent nations in the 1940’s and 1950’s and the rise of multinational aid organizations in the 1970’s and non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) in the 1980’s. We will conclude by detailing recent emerging trends in aid through the 1990’s into the present day. From Humanitarianism to Humanitarian Action Seneca the Elder noted (5BC-65AD) “It is a denial of justice not to stretch out a helping hand to the fallen; that is the common right of humanity.” As the quote illustrates, the belief in having a moral obligation to help those in need has a long history within the human experience. However, it isn’t until the early 19th century that we first see the emergence of the concept of “humanitarian” aid as an international idea. The term originally emerged from a variety of religious and enlightenment ideas and was applied broadly to include the restoration of societies morale, the provision of charity to those less fortunate, or as an international prerogative to bring civilization to the uncivilized (Coyne, 2013, p. 30). Coyne argues that it was the last view that led some developed nations in ... ... middle of paper ... ...onal Society, (2) transition, (3) takeoff, (4) drive to maturity, (5) high mass consumption (p. 4-16).” Coyne further argues that the conclusion reached by academic and policymakers of the day was that if the US applied targeted aid, they could foster “development abroad while supporting the spread of liberal capitalism to combat communism (p.36).” This attitude led to a dramatic rise in the interest in, and the funding of, international government organizations (IGO’s). Funding of foreign aid by the US grew from a few hundred million dollars a year to over $50 billion dollars a year in the mid 90’s. As economist Peter Bauer (2000) points out, those advocating for foreign aid in the late 1940’s believed that countries’ would only need a relatively short period of aid sufficient to cause “self-sustaining” growth (p. 41). This was based in part on the Soviet Union’s
The proliferation of crises around the world has led to a prominent increase in the amount of humanitarian aid needed. Humanitarian aid work represents not only compassion, but commitment to support innocent populations that have experienced sudden or on-going tragedies. Some of these tragedies include: malnutrition, genocide, diseases, torture, poverty, war, natural disasters, government negligence, and unfortunately much more. There is no doubt that these tragedies are some of the world’s toughest problems to solve as they are often complex, multifaceted and require diligence and patience. For this reason, being a humanitarian aid worker is more than a profession, it is a lifestyle that requires a sharp distinction between one’s work and
The 19th century set the stage for different policies that lead to the extending of America’s power, which is defined as imperialism. Imperialism started for different reasons like the Americans wanting the U.S. to expand or explore the unknown land, or even some feared existing resources in U.S. might eventually dry up. The reason imperialism started doesn’t really matter, but more of what it caused. Imperialism lead to Cuban assistance, the addition of Hawaii and Alaska to America, and Yellow Journalism.
How much money is one morally obligated to give to relief overseas? Many In people would say that although it is a good thing to do, one is not obligated to give anything. Other people would say that if a person has more than he needs, then he should donate a portion of what he has. Peter Singer, however, proposes a radically different view. His essay, “Famine, Affluence, and Morality,” focuses on the Bengal crisis in 1971 and claims that one is morally obligated to give as much as possible. His thesis supports the idea that “We ought to give until we reach the level of marginal utility – that is, the level at which, by giving more, I would cause as much suffering to myself or my dependents as I would relieve by my gift” (399). He says that one's obligation to give to people in need half-way around the world is just as strong as the obligation to give to one's neighbor in need. Even more than that, he says that one should keep giving until, by giving more, you would be in a worse position than the people one means to help. Singer's claim is so different than people's typical idea of morality that is it is easy to quickly dismiss it as being absurd. Saying that one should provide monetary relief to the point that you are in as bad a position as those receiving your aid seems to go against common sense. However, when the evidence he presents is considered, it is impossible not to wonder if he might be right.
...ally ‘buy’ virtue without possessing the compassion or empathy that our current moral code associates with a ‘good’ person. Yet on consideration, Singer doesn’t explicitly say giving is the only moral course; “I would sympathise with someone who thought that campaigning was more important” (FAM). Although Singer’s argument for famine relief is in need of refining at the compassionate, humanitarian level, it does indeed advocate moral courses alternative to strictly impartiality.
... aid across the world. As we have established that we do have an obligation to redistribute globally in a cosmopolitan perspective, distributing wealth however we may need to rethink what the best assistance is. Amaryta Sen conveys that before sending aid to the third world state, we would need to fully understand the limitation of freedom in the country. Redistributing wealth to global countries requires it to be evaluated by the economic shortage that they are suffering and to see whether it will be efficient in the long run. The more effective ways to contribute would be to international relief agencies or NGO’s that would pursue international development projects to help those in poverty or the alternative option by Tom Campbell’s idea of a ‘Global humanitarian levy’ which suggests a more appropriate taxation on all citizens to collectively aid those in need.
aid? Is it not true that it was Britain and the US who, in the 1980's,
A person only needs to fulfill what the Principle of Sympathy demands to be moral. Works Cited Pogge, Thomas Winfried Menko, and Keith Horton. "Famine, Affluence and Poverty." Global ethics: seminal essays. St. Paul, MN:
First of all, it is crucial to understand what exactly ‘Humanitarian space’ is, before discussing how...
While the efforts of developers have aided the lives of billions, none would claim the amount of humanitarian aid administered has raised the living standards of the vast majority of the poor even close to that of industrialized nations and for a large proportion of the poor even to a state of adequately possessing basic necessities including food, clean water, and clothing. Even wealthy nations must struggle to finance the consumption of crucial modern goods such as healthcare and information technology. It is doubtful then the small fractions of wealthy nations' income being donated to the impoverished will be sufficient to fill a significant share of this material gulf of inequality between rich and poor nations. The goods humanitarians wish for the poor can only be produced in satisfactory quantities by the currently poor peoples themselves in economies in which they are valued, productive participants. The question then is whether sending aid to autocracies controlling destitute nations serves this greater goal of economically enabling the impoverished or does little more than prop up the level of development in poor autocratic nations. To answer this question, we again invoke Easterly's
Despite the international system being anarchical, it is not in a state of total chaos due to a number of significant factors such as those above. It is obvious that the current international system is highly influenced by many significant factors and some are more prominent than others. With the continued existence of international anarchy it is up to the States and the International Organisations to continue to make the decisions that are in their own best interest and to maintain order and an ever-improving way of life.
Glennie, Jonathan. "Giving Aid to Poor Countries Is Hardly a Great Act of Generosity." Theguardian.com. Guardian News and Media, 14 June 2011. Web. 06 Mar. 2014.
During my learning interactions, I noticed the theory behind humanitarian, humanitarianism, humanitarian action, history of humanitarianism, humanitarian ethics and the moral values underlying humanitarian principles. As I came across different reading, the act of helping others underlies a long tradition of charitable giving and national solidarity in different societies, as the social values that directly speak to the core principle of humanity. For me, the most significant aspect was how humanitarianism is as old as history. I do associate humanitarianism with compassion and I do believe religious, spiritual, and logical commitments inspired acts of compassion. Barnett (2011) has suggested the three ‘ages of humanitarianism’ in his book
When people read about foreign aid they immediately think of food and water. However foreign aid involves one nation giving resources to another nation that is struggling. Based on the country’s situation the aid can be financial, military, or simply food. The problem is there have been several of unsolved issues with these nations receiving their aid. Several of events has happened where our donations or the money the government gives have been misused or stolen.
Barnett, M., Weiss, T.G. (Ed.). (2008). Humanitarianism in question: Politics, power, ethics. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.
The reformation of the Charity Organizations didn’t grant relief themselves however they served as a resource to simplify the transaction of relief to relief applicants by: maintaining relief applicant requests, records of the aid given to them, and referring those worthy or unworthy to the proper agencies (Trattner, 1999). Their goal was to eradicate fraud and duplicity of services while also maintaining efficiency and treating poverty. The charity organization movement intended to treat poverty by enacting “friendly visitors” to look into each case and define the cause of destitution while also watching for overlapping relief. These “friendly visitors” and their investigations were the cornerstone of the Charity Organization Society’s (C.O.S) treatment; granting aid without investigation was like giving medicine without diagnosis (Trattner, 1999).