Saving Lives and Staying Alive: The Professionalization of Humanitarian Security

ISBN 10: 1849046514 / ISBN 13: 9781849046510

Published by Hurst, 2016

Item in good condition. Textbooks may not include supplemental items i.e. CDs, access codes etc. Seller Inventory # 00080678886

Synopsis:

Much like the large commercial companies, most humanitarian aid organisations now have departments specifically dedicated to protecting the security of their personnel and assets. The management of humanitarian security has gradually become the business of professionals who develop data collection systems, standardized procedures, norms, and training meant to prevent and manage risks. A large majority of aid agencies and security experts see these developments as inevitable -- all the more so because of quantitative studies and media reports concluding that the dangers to which aid workers are today exposed are completely unprecedented. Yet, this trend towards professionalisation is also raising questions within aid organisations, MSF included. Can insecurity be measured by scientific means and managed through norms and protocols? How does the professionalisation of security affect the balance of power between field and headquarters, volunteers and the institution that employs them? What is its impact on the implementation of humanitarian organizations' social mission? Are there alternatives to the prevailing security model(s) derived from the corporate world?Building on MSF's experience and observations of the aid world by academics and practitioners, the authors of this book look at the drivers of the professionalization of humanitarian security and its impact on humanitarian practices, with a specific focus on Syria, CAR and kidnapping in the Caucasus.

About the Author: Michael Neuman is director of studies at MSF-Crash. He joined MSF in 1999, alternating between missions in the field and positions at MSF headquarters. From 2008- 2010, Neuman served on the board of direc--tors of the French and US sections of MSF. He is co-editor of Humanitarian Negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience (2012). Fabrice Weissman is Coordinator and a Director of Studies at MSF-Crash. Special--ised in Sub-saharan Africa, he has been working with MSF since 1995, and spent many years in the field. He is the editor of In the Shadow of 'Just Wars': Violence, Politics and Humanitarian Action (2004), and co-editor of Humanitarian negotiations Revealed: The MSF Experience (2012).

Bibliographic Details

Title: Saving Lives and Staying Alive: The ...
Publisher: Hurst
Publication Date: 2016
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: Good