A CRITICAL READING OF THE HISTORY OF HUMANITARIAN AID: GOVERNMENTALITY, COMPASSION, AND THE PERSISTENCE OF POWER

Date

2025-4

Author

EFE DEMİRÖREN, BÜŞRA

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This dissertation aims to provide a critical reading of humanitarian aid from its modern inception to the present, examining it through the lens of Foucauldian governmentality and framing it as “government of humanity.” The thesis explores how humanitarianism has influenced the definition of crises as humanitarian crises, determined the recipients of aid, and shaped response mechanisms, all within the context of power relations. It examines distinct historical periods from the eighteenth to the twenty-first century, highlighting both transformations and continuities in humanitarianism. Each chapter outlines the key characteristics of its respective period and critiques specific examples of humanitarian aid. This includes but not limited to missionary activities in the nineteenth century, the Red Cross’s responses in Europe during the interwar period, African famines during the Cold War, and the twenty-first-century refugee crisis, all reflecting the prevailing power dynamics of their times. The discourse of compassion in humanitarian aid remains a consistent theme, however, the expression of compassion and the forms of power it utilizes evolve over time, including pastoral power, biopolitics, and neoliberalism. Despite these variations, power relations have always been a fundamental and consistent aspect of humanitarianism throughout its history.

Subject Keywords

Humanitarian aid, governmentality, compassion, power relations, Foucault, İnsani yardım, yönetimsellik, merhamet, iktidar ilişkileri, Foucault

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/114155

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis