Do No Harm: The Role of Humanitarian Aid and Neutrality in Protracting Civil Wars

ABSTRACT

We review the impact of humanitarian actors in civil war through the examination of the concepts of neutrality and impartiality – embedded within the ‘do no harm’ principle. We argue that despite the rationale of principles seeking to detach international action from the embodied dynamics of conflict, these governing tenets have effectively served to reinforce power discrepancies between authoritarian regimes, opposition forces, and civilians in civil wars. Because humanitarian practices have so often been co-opted to strengthen the position of authoritarian regimes and inflict harm, we trace their impact in conflict networks and assess whether they serve to further protract and unbalance civil war.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anisa Abeytia

Anisa Abeytia is a migration researcher and policy professional interested in digital bordering, active social inclusion and colonial antecedents in policy integration. She holds a masters degree in Migration Studies from the University of San Francisco, a masters from Stanford University in Literary Theory, and a graduate certificate in international development from Oslo University. She has worked with the United States Congress, the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. State Department to shape US-Syria policy, with a focus on immigration and humanitarian advocacy. She is the recipient of a Student Forum Award (2019) from the American Sociological Society and an Emerging Scholar Grant from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, University of Indiana/Purdue. She is currently the Global Research Network’s Policy Fellow.

Esther Brito Ruiz

Esther Brito is a Ph.D. student at the American University School of International Service. Beyond this, she has a Master’s in Gender, Peace, and Security from the London School of Economics, specialising in genocide and women’s rights. She is a Fellow in the War, Conflict & Global Migration think tank of the Global Research Network, and the author of the book Cities and Governance: The Rise of Cities as Global Actors. She serves as the Education Director of ITSS Verona, and was previously a Global Shaper within The World Economic Forum.

John Sunday Ojo

John Sunday Ojo is a doctoral researcher at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, George Mason University, USA. He received his MA in Global Development from the University of Leeds and holds an MSc in Urban Management and Development from Erasmus University Rotterdam, with a concentration in Environment, Sustainability, and Climate Change. He is a fellow at the United Nations Association of the National Capital Area (UNA-NCA) and at the Global Research Network. His research focuses on the intersection between climate change and conflict, governance, African politics, violent extremism, non-state armed groups, conflict resolution, peace and security studies.

Taha Alloosh

Taha Alloosh is an internally displaced academic working on a graduate degree at the University of Aleppo in the liberated area of Syria, focused on the integration of Syrian refugees in Türkiye.