Empire of Humanity : a History of Humanitarianism . Michael Barnett
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Empire of Humanity: a History of Humanitarianism. Michael Barnett Ithaca and London: Cornell University Press, 2011 Daniela Nascimento
Published online: 18 January 2013 # Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
Michael Barnett’s Empire of Humanity: a History of Humanitarianism provides an insightful analysis of humanitarianism and humanitarian action focusing on its evolution and globalization especially after World War II. With this work, the author aims at joining the debate on the dilemmas of humanitarian action by providing a comprehensive and complete overview of how humanitarian action evolved both in its theory and practice but by going back to what Barnett calls the “beginning of humanitarianism”. This is an openly ambitious book but one that is at the same time openly limited by choices that the author puts forward since the beginning: it does not aim at offering a theory of humanitarianism; it rather develops a framework that allows the reader to think about the different dynamics, trends of humanitarianism. There is also present throughout the book a clear distinction between humanitarianism and other forms of action such as charity; thus presenting what humanitarianism is and what is not. Also, and by affirming its Western bias, Barnett chooses not to do an analysis of all forms of humanitarianism rather focusing on an international humanitarian order that is rooted in the West’s globalized history. With the implicit argument that “any notion of progress and a moral community requires a readiness to come to the assistance of those in need and that benevolence is the clearest sign of a moral community and progress” (13), this book aims at being one of the first accounts of modern humanitarianism, reading it from its origins and through an analysis of geopolitics, capitalism, and ethics thus, becoming a must-read for all of those interested in the topic of humanitarianism. For his purposes, Barnett identifies what he calls the three ages of humanitarianism: an age of imperial humanitarianism from the late eighteen century to WWII, an age of neohumanitarianism from the end of WWII to the end of the Cold War, and finally an age of liberal humanitarianism that remains until today. By presenting and analyzing the differences and similarities between these various stages, the author also aims at shedding
D. Nascimento (*) School of Economics, University of Coimbra, Av. Dias da Silva, 165, 3004-512 Coimbra, Portugal e-mail: [email protected]
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D. Nascimento
light on the trends and tensions that have always characterized humanitarian action regardless of its age. Throughout his analysis, the author openly rejects both a romantic and cynical view of humanitarianism, treating it rather as a morally complicated issue often defined and influenced by the passions, politics and powers of its times (p7). The point of departure is that any act of intervention is an act of control and therefore humanitarian governance should not be seen as an exception. In this sense, and by linking and tying up humanitarian
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