GWSS 1914: Debbie Do-Gooder and the White Savior Cat: Humanitarianism or Queer & Feminist Imperialism?

The major humanitarian crises of recent years are well known: the Shoah, the killing fields of Cambodia, Rwandan genocide, the massacre in Bosnia, the tsunami in southeast Asia, not to mention bloody conflicts in Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan. Millions have been killed and many millions more have been driven from their homes; the world is sadly full of refugees and internally displaced persons. Could these crises have been prevented? Why do they continue? This book seeks to understand how humanity is in crisis, and what we can do about it. Hollenbach draws on the values that have shaped major humanitarian initiative over the past century and a half, such as the commitments of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Oxfam, Doctors without Borders, as well as the values of religious and ethical traditions, to examine the scope of our responsibilities and practical solutions to these global crises. He also explores the economic and political causes of these tragedies, drawing on on-the-ground interviews with refugees and government and NGO leaders, and uncovers key moral issues for practitioners in the field.

Ten new essays critique the practice armed humanitarian intervention, and the "Responsibility to Protect" doctrine that advocates its use under certain circumstances. The contributors investigate the causes and consequences, as well as the uses and abuses, of armed humanitarian intervention.One enduring concern is that such interventions are liable to be employed as a foreign policy instrument by powerful states pursuing geo-political interests. Some of the chapters interrogate how the presence of ulterior motives impact on the moral credentials of armed humanitarian intervention.Others shine a light on the potential adverse effects of such interventions, even where they are motivated primarily by humanitarian concern.The volume also tracks the evolution of the R2P norm, and draws attention to how it has evolved, for better or for worse, since UN member states unanimously accepted it over a decade ago. In some respects the norm has been distorted to yield prescriptions, and to impose constraints, fundamentally atodds with the spirit of the R2P idea. This gives us all the more reason to be cautious of unwarranted optimism about humanitarian intervention and the Responsibility to Protect.

Learning/volunteer abroad programmes provide opportunities for cross-cultural understanding, partnership-building, and cooperative development, but there are also significant structural challenges and inequality of opportunity issues that result from these partnerships between host organizations in the Global South and learning/volunteer abroad for development (LVA4D) participants from the Global North. Learning and Volunteering Abroad for Development aims to unpack the complex benefits and disadvantages of learning/volunteer abroad programmes, using insights from the volunteers who travel abroad and the communities who host them. Based on empirical research within both volunteer and host communities, this book provides students and scholars with an alternative framework for a more careful and nuanced analysis of international volunteering programmes, highlighting ways to improve critical reflection, development outcomes, and intercultural competence. Supported by a website with additional learning resources, this book is an integral resource for senior undergraduate and graduate students interested in going abroad, as well as for scholars or development professionals who are leading or researching such programmes.