The Politics of Humanitarian Assistance in Syria's Civil War

Date

2024-1

Author

Seven , Ümit

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This research explores the dynamics of interaction between the Syrian government and international aid actors in Syria’s civil war. Its primary objective is to understand the palpable manifestations of state sovereignty in humanitarian action and their impact on humanitarian norms and principles. Employing a mixed methods approach, this research unveils spatial configuration of international humanitarian assistance that emerge from daily practices, negotiations, and violence within the civil war. I contend that the Syrian government employs sovereign violence strategically within humanitarian space as a means to assert its sovereignty in relation to the international community's efforts to alleviate human suffering in the civil war. This violence stands as the conspicuous embodiment of its sovereign authority and should not be viewed as an ontological source of power but, rather, as a relational concept that takes shape within the broader context of its social surroundings. This sovereign violence redefines the power dynamics between the state, aid organizations, and vulnerable populations in the civil war. In particular, it places significant pressure on aid organizations to give precedence to state sovereignty over humanitarian norms. Moreover, the research reveals that the global governance of humanity, oriented toward the overarching goal of preserving lives and mitigating human suffering, is far from being monolithic or uniform. Rather, it is a diverse landscape that varies across different actors. As an outgrowth of this assertive sovereignty, the meanings and practices associated with principled humanitarian action undergo continuous negotiation and varied interpretation by humanitarian relief organizations, despite their shared ultimate objective.

Subject Keywords

Sovereignty, Syria, Violence, aid, International organizations

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/109427

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis