Myfanwy Vaughan James
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 1713733 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Myfanwy Vaughan James |
| PRENOMES | Myfanwy Vaughan |
| SOBRENOME | James |
| ASSINATURA | JAMES M V |
| AFILIAÇÕES | University of Oxford |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-7194-1287 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 14 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 23 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 14 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 0 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2019 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 3 |
Mutual Suspicion
Suspicion of corruption in crisis is central to debates about who counts as an authentic humanitarian. This article examines suspicions of corruption in global humanitarianism in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: between humanitarian colleagues, as well as humanitarians and the people they are there to assist. Mutual suspicion of corruption, I argue, is deeply racialised: rooted in racial logics and expressed through racial grammars. …
The humanitarian class
Humanitarianism is imagined to be a short-term response to a temporary emergency. However, in reality, both crisis and aid often become protracted. This article examines a glaring consequence of protracted humanitarian presence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: the formation of a local humanitarian class, for whom the sector becomes a site of social mobility and identity construction. Incorporation into the humanitarian political e…
Looking for the Local
There is renewed energy behind "going local" in the humanitarian sector: transferring power and funding to "local" actors to make aid more equitable and efficient. Yet, this obscures how claims to localness are highly contested. This article examines the tensions generated by humanitarian recruitment of "local staff" in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hiring "locally" is deeply contentious because who is "local" is up for deb…
Rumor as ethical vernacular
The position of pregnant women in clinical research remains a topic of international ethical debate. Yet, the reflections of actual and potential trial participants, including pregnant women themselves, often remain absent. Following a policy reversal in 2019, pregnant women were eligible to participate in a second Ebola vaccine trial during an epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This article follows how this decision …
Continuity and Rupture in Crisis
This article examines the experience of healthcare professionals working in primary healthcare provision during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Kambia District, Sierra Leone. Drawing on ethnographic observation, interviews and focus groups, we explore everyday narratives of 'crisis' in these two regions which had recently seen Ebola epidemics. In describing the impact of COVID-19…
Protection, health seeking, or a laissez-passer
During the 10th Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (2018-2020), two experimental EVD vaccines were deployed in North Kivu. This province has been at the centre of conflict in the region for the last 25 years. Amidst ambivalence towards protracted foreign intervention and controversy about introducing two experimental vaccines, the existing literature has focused on mistrust and 'resistance' to…
Contesting the crisis narrative
Scientists and global commentators watched African countries closely in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, predicting an impending disaster: the virus was projected to overwhelm already weak health systems. These expectations were informed by imaginaries of Africa as an inevitable site of epidemic disaster. This paper draws on accounts from Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo to contrast global catastrophe framing…
Humanitarian fables
This article describes how events are turned into fables in humanitarian organisations. It explores how these fables circulate, the lessons they come to embody and their influence in maintaining an organisational status quo. The article argues that such stories teach new humanitarian employees certain ‘facts’ about ‘the field’ and help form and consolidate consensus about why things are the way they are in an organisation. By describing three suc…
From Rebel to Humanitarian
This article explores the experience of ex-rebels who have become humanitarians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It describes how rebel-cum-humanitarians navigate a turbulent political environment, integrating the knowledge they acquired through military experience into a career in the humanitarian sector. 'Distinction' between combatants and humanitarians remains central to the humanitarian imaginary. However, rebel and humanitar…
"Are You Sure It's Not the Corona Vaccine?" An Ebola Vaccine Trial During Covid-19 in DRC
The COVID-19 pandemic began as an Ebola epidemic was unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this article, we examine how COVID-19 influenced experiences of an Ebola vaccine trial and attitudes towards medical research in Goma. First, critical debates about vaccine research became a forum in which to contest ineffective local governance and global inequality. Second, discussions about new COVID-19 therapeutics reignited critique of …
The Politics of the Second Vaccine
Two experimental Ebola vaccines were deployed during the tenth Ebola epidemic (2018–20) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The first, the Ervebo vaccine manufactured by Merck, was used as part of a ring vaccination in the epicentre of the epidemic in North Kivu. In 2019, the prime- (Ad26.ZEBOV) and boost- (MVA-BN-Filo) vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) became the second vaccine against Ebola, deployed by the DRC-EB-001 v…
Humanitarian Shapeshifting
This article examines the experience of Congolese humanitarians negotiating access with armed groups in eastern DRC. It describes how humanitarians become shapeshifters: they play different roles for different audiences as a tactic of social navigation in a context of uncertainty. Because humanitarians encounter risks related to their perceived identity, they play upon identity categories and personal histories, situating themselves tactically du…
‘Who Can Sing the Song of MSF?’
This article explores the everyday practice of security management and negotiations for access conducted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Based on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews and archival exploration, it examines the experience of MSF Congolese employees, who navigate a complex politics of humanitarian fixing and brokerage. Their role in MSF is simultaneously defined and circum…
Jean-Hervé Bradol and Marc Le Pape, Humanitarian Aid, Genocide and Mass Killings
This book describes and analyses the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the Great Lakes Region between 1982 and 1997. It explores the everyday, operational and political dilemmas faced by MSF staff in the field and the debates that followed, as they asked themselves: ‘how should we react and what action should we take’ in the wake of mass violence (p. 4). In effect, the authors ask: (how) could MSF prevent itself being manipulated or becom…
Humanitarian fables
This article describes how events are turned into fables in humanitarian organisations. It explores how these fables circulate, the lessons they come to embody and their influence in maintaining an organisational status quo. The article argues that such stories teach new humanitarian employees certain ‘facts’ about ‘the field’ and help form and consolidate consensus about why things are the way they are in an organisation. By describing three suc…
Humanitarian Shapeshifting
This article examines the experience of Congolese humanitarians negotiating access with armed groups in eastern DRC. It describes how humanitarians become shapeshifters: they play different roles for different audiences as a tactic of social navigation in a context of uncertainty. Because humanitarians encounter risks related to their perceived identity, they play upon identity categories and personal histories, situating themselves tactically du…
"Are You Sure It's Not the Corona Vaccine?" An Ebola Vaccine Trial During Covid-19 in DRC
The COVID-19 pandemic began as an Ebola epidemic was unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this article, we examine how COVID-19 influenced experiences of an Ebola vaccine trial and attitudes towards medical research in Goma. First, critical debates about vaccine research became a forum in which to contest ineffective local governance and global inequality. Second, discussions about new COVID-19 therapeutics reignited critique of …
From Rebel to Humanitarian
This article explores the experience of ex-rebels who have become humanitarians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It describes how rebel-cum-humanitarians navigate a turbulent political environment, integrating the knowledge they acquired through military experience into a career in the humanitarian sector. 'Distinction' between combatants and humanitarians remains central to the humanitarian imaginary. However, rebel and humanitar…
Contesting the crisis narrative
Scientists and global commentators watched African countries closely in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, predicting an impending disaster: the virus was projected to overwhelm already weak health systems. These expectations were informed by imaginaries of Africa as an inevitable site of epidemic disaster. This paper draws on accounts from Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo to contrast global catastrophe framing…
Protection, health seeking, or a laissez-passer
During the 10th Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (2018-2020), two experimental EVD vaccines were deployed in North Kivu. This province has been at the centre of conflict in the region for the last 25 years. Amidst ambivalence towards protracted foreign intervention and controversy about introducing two experimental vaccines, the existing literature has focused on mistrust and 'resistance' to…
Jean-Hervé Bradol and Marc Le Pape, Humanitarian Aid, Genocide and Mass Killings
This book describes and analyses the work of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in the Great Lakes Region between 1982 and 1997. It explores the everyday, operational and political dilemmas faced by MSF staff in the field and the debates that followed, as they asked themselves: ‘how should we react and what action should we take’ in the wake of mass violence (p. 4). In effect, the authors ask: (how) could MSF prevent itself being manipulated or becom…
‘Who Can Sing the Song of MSF?’
This article explores the everyday practice of security management and negotiations for access conducted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Based on ethnographic fieldwork, interviews and archival exploration, it examines the experience of MSF Congolese employees, who navigate a complex politics of humanitarian fixing and brokerage. Their role in MSF is simultaneously defined and circum…
The Politics of the Second Vaccine
Two experimental Ebola vaccines were deployed during the tenth Ebola epidemic (2018–20) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The first, the Ervebo vaccine manufactured by Merck, was used as part of a ring vaccination in the epicentre of the epidemic in North Kivu. In 2019, the prime- (Ad26.ZEBOV) and boost- (MVA-BN-Filo) vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson (J&J) became the second vaccine against Ebola, deployed by the DRC-EB-001 v…
Humanitarian Shapeshifting
This article examines the experience of Congolese humanitarians negotiating access with armed groups in eastern DRC. It describes how humanitarians become shapeshifters: they play different roles for different audiences as a tactic of social navigation in a context of uncertainty. Because humanitarians encounter risks related to their perceived identity, they play upon identity categories and personal histories, situating themselves tactically du…
Humanitarian fables
This article describes how events are turned into fables in humanitarian organisations. It explores how these fables circulate, the lessons they come to embody and their influence in maintaining an organisational status quo. The article argues that such stories teach new humanitarian employees certain ‘facts’ about ‘the field’ and help form and consolidate consensus about why things are the way they are in an organisation. By describing three suc…
From Rebel to Humanitarian
This article explores the experience of ex-rebels who have become humanitarians in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. It describes how rebel-cum-humanitarians navigate a turbulent political environment, integrating the knowledge they acquired through military experience into a career in the humanitarian sector. 'Distinction' between combatants and humanitarians remains central to the humanitarian imaginary. However, rebel and humanitar…
"Are You Sure It's Not the Corona Vaccine?" An Ebola Vaccine Trial During Covid-19 in DRC
The COVID-19 pandemic began as an Ebola epidemic was unfolding in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this article, we examine how COVID-19 influenced experiences of an Ebola vaccine trial and attitudes towards medical research in Goma. First, critical debates about vaccine research became a forum in which to contest ineffective local governance and global inequality. Second, discussions about new COVID-19 therapeutics reignited critique of …
Continuity and Rupture in Crisis
This article examines the experience of healthcare professionals working in primary healthcare provision during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in North Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and in Kambia District, Sierra Leone. Drawing on ethnographic observation, interviews and focus groups, we explore everyday narratives of 'crisis' in these two regions which had recently seen Ebola epidemics. In describing the impact of COVID-19…
Protection, health seeking, or a laissez-passer
During the 10th Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) (2018-2020), two experimental EVD vaccines were deployed in North Kivu. This province has been at the centre of conflict in the region for the last 25 years. Amidst ambivalence towards protracted foreign intervention and controversy about introducing two experimental vaccines, the existing literature has focused on mistrust and 'resistance' to…
Contesting the crisis narrative
Scientists and global commentators watched African countries closely in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, predicting an impending disaster: the virus was projected to overwhelm already weak health systems. These expectations were informed by imaginaries of Africa as an inevitable site of epidemic disaster. This paper draws on accounts from Sierra Leone, Tanzania, and Democratic Republic of the Congo to contrast global catastrophe framing…
Looking for the Local
There is renewed energy behind "going local" in the humanitarian sector: transferring power and funding to "local" actors to make aid more equitable and efficient. Yet, this obscures how claims to localness are highly contested. This article examines the tensions generated by humanitarian recruitment of "local staff" in North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Hiring "locally" is deeply contentious because who is "local" is up for deb…
Rumor as ethical vernacular
The position of pregnant women in clinical research remains a topic of international ethical debate. Yet, the reflections of actual and potential trial participants, including pregnant women themselves, often remain absent. Following a policy reversal in 2019, pregnant women were eligible to participate in a second Ebola vaccine trial during an epidemic in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This article follows how this decision …
Mutual Suspicion
Suspicion of corruption in crisis is central to debates about who counts as an authentic humanitarian. This article examines suspicions of corruption in global humanitarianism in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: between humanitarian colleagues, as well as humanitarians and the people they are there to assist. Mutual suspicion of corruption, I argue, is deeply racialised: rooted in racial logics and expressed through racial grammars. …
The humanitarian class
Humanitarianism is imagined to be a short-term response to a temporary emergency. However, in reality, both crisis and aid often become protracted. This article examines a glaring consequence of protracted humanitarian presence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo: the formation of a local humanitarian class, for whom the sector becomes a site of social mobility and identity construction. Incorporation into the humanitarian political e…
Law (11 obras) · Political science (11 obras) · Democracy (10 obras) · Politics (10 obras) · Sociology (9 obras) · Law (8 obras) · Global Security and Public Health (7 obras) · Viral Infections and Outbreaks Research (7 obras) · Peacebuilding and International Security (6 obras) · Medicine (5 obras)