Professionalisation Trends and Inequality

Experiences and Practices in Aid Relationships

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5828819
AutoresSolen Roth (0000-0002-8760-0505, autor correspondente), Silke Roth
Ano2012
Volume33
Fascículo8
Páginas1459-1474
Data de publicação2012-08-09
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoThird World Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0143-6597 • E-ISSN: 1360-2241
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09700161.2012.698129
OpenAlexW2051879353
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas25

This article explores the role that skills and knowledge play in the relationships between national and international volunteers and staff. Based on biographical interviews with people working for a wide range of aid organisations, the experiences and strategies of individuals and organisations dealing with inequality and diversity are explored. In particular, the paper addresses the question of whether professionalisation processes that can currently be observed in the field of humanitarian aid might contribute to minimising or perpetuating the gap between national and international aid personnel. Professionalisation processes can have positive effects not only for aid recipients, who obtain better services, and for the careers of aid personnel, but also for donors and hiring aid organisations, which benefit from a skilled workforce. However, we need to critically reflect on what kind of knowledge is validated, where it can be obtained and whether credentials guarantee hiring and promotion of qualified staff from all regions. Notes I am very grateful for the helpful comments from Anne-Meike Fechter, Clare Saunders and two anonymous reviewers. Financial support for this project was provided by the Sociology Department of the University of Pennsylvania and the School of Social Sciences of the University of Southampton. 1 D Fassin, 'Humanitarianism as a politics of life', Public Culture, 19(3), 2007, p 519. 2 M MacLachlan, S Carr & E McAuliffe, The Aid Triangle: Recognizing the Human Dynamics of Dominance, Justice and Identity, London: Zed Books, 2010. 3 R Eyben, 'Introduction', in Eyben (ed), Relationships for Aid, London: Earthscan, 2006, p 5. 4 For development studies, see reviews by D Mosse & D Lewis, 'Theoretical approaches to brokerage and translation in development', in D Lewis & D Mosse (eds), Brokers and Translators: The Ethnography of Aid and Agencies, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian, 2006, pp 1-26. For humanitarian studies, see M Barnett, 'Humanitarianism as scholarly vocation', in M Barnett & TG Weiss (eds), Humanitarianism in Question: Politics, Power, Ethics, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008, pp 235-263. 5 In the context of humanitarian assistance the distinction between 'internationals' and 'locals', which reinforces boundaries rather than overcoming them, appears ironic. However, national and international staff are positioned differently in the aid system. O Shevchenko & RC Fox, '"Nationals" and "expatriates": challenges of fulfilling "sans frontières" ("without borders") ideals in international humanitarian action', Health and Human Rights, 10(1), 2008, pp 109-122. 6 I refer to 'national staff' and 'national ngos' rather than to 'local staff' and 'local ngos' in order to address the fact that 'local' staff and ngos do not necessarily work in their local village or home town, but in other parts of their country. 7 L Minear, Helping People in an Age of Conflict: Toward a New Professionalism in US Voluntary Humanitarian Assistance, New York: Interaction, 1988. 8 Between 2000 and 2010 humanitarian aid from government donors (including oecd as well as non-oecd dac governments) increased from US$6.7 billion to $12.4 billion. Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2011, at www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/report/gha-report-2011. 9 D Hilhorst, 'Being good at doing good? Quality and accountability of humanitarian ngos', Disasters, 26(3), 2002, p 196. 10 M Buchanan-Smith, How the Sphere Project Came into Being: A Case Study of Policy Making in the Humanitarian Aid Sector and the Relative Influence of Research, Working Paper 211, London: odi, 2003. 11 P Walker, 'Cracking the code: the genesis, use and future of the code of conduct', Disasters, 29(4), 2005, p 326. 12 D Hilhorst, 'Dead letter or living document? Ten years of the Code of Conduct for Disaster Relief', Disasters, 29(4), 2005, p 354. 13 International Federation of the Red Cross, Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and ngos in Disaster Relief, at http://www.ifrc.org/Global/Publications/disasters/codeof conduct_signatories.pdf, accessed 15 August 2011. 14 Hilhorst, 'Dead letter or living document?', p 367. 15 C Dufour, V de Geoffroy, H Maury & F Gruenwald, 'Rights, standards and quality in a complex humanitarian space: is Sphere the right tool?', Disasters, 28(2), 2004, pp 124-141. 16 D Hilhorst & N Schmiemann, 'Humanitarian principles and organisational culture: everyday practice in Médecins Sans Frontières-Holland', Development in Practice, 12(3-4), 2002, pp 490-500. 17 J-D Rainhorn, A Smailbegovic & S Jiekak, Humanitarian Studies 2010: University Training and Education in Humanitarian Action, Geneva: University of Geneva Graduate Institute, 2010; and P Walker & C Russ, Professionalising the Humanitarian Sector, Cardiff: Enhancing Learning and Research for Humanitarian Assistance (ELRHA), 2010. 18 Some of these short-term courses are offered by universities, others by ngos, the icrc or UN agencies. 19 V Bollettino & C Bruderlein, 'Training humanitarian professionals at a distance: testing the feasibility of distance learning with humanitarian professionals', Distance Education, 29(3), 2008, p 282. 20 cerah-Geneve & elrha, Articulating an Agenda for Humanitarian Education and Training: Humanitarian Education and Training Conference Report, Humanitarian Education and Training Conference, Geneva, 26-28 October 2011. 21 H Slim, 'The continuing metamorphosis of the humanitarian practitioner: some new colours for an endangered chameleon', Disasters, 19(2), 1995, p 110. 22 F Richardson, 'Meeting the demand for skilled and experienced humanitarian workers', Development in Practice, 16(3), 2006, pp 334-341. 23 D Loquercio, M Hammersley & B Emmens, Understanding and Addressing Staff Turnover in Humanitarian Agencies, Network Paper 55, Humanitarian Practice Network, London: odi, 2006; and frontera, Motivating Staff and Volunteers Working in ngos in the South, London: People in Aid, 2007. 24 B Harrell-Bond, 'Can humanitarian work with refugees be humane?', Human Rights Quarterly, 24(1), 2002, p 71. 25 P Walker, 'What does it mean to be a professional humanitarian?', Journal of Humanitarian Assistance, 2004, at http://jha.ac/2004/01/01/what-does-it-mean-to-be-a-professional-humanitarian. 26 M Buchanan-Smith with K Scriven, alnap Study-Leadership in Action: Leading Effectively in Humanitarian Operations, London: odi, 2011, p 7. 27 U Kothari, 'From colonialism to development: reflections of former colonial officers', Commonwealth and Comparative Politics, 44(1), 2006, pp 118-136. 28 L Minear, The Humanitarian Enterprise: Dilemmas and Discoveries, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian Press, 2002, p 126. 29 Walker & Russ, Professionalising the Humanitarian Sector, p 11. 30 A Stoddard, A Harmer & K Haver, Providing Aid in Insecure Environments: Trends in Policy and Operations, hpg Report, New York: Center on International Cooperation, New York University, 2006, at http://www.odi.org.uk/hpg/papers/hpgreport23.pdf. 31 Walker & Russ, Professionalising the Humanitarian Sector. 32 Mosse & Lewis, 'Theoretical approaches to brokerage and translation in development'. 33 I use the term 'expatriate' interchangeably with 'internationals' and to refer to all respondents who do not work in their home country regardless of skin colour, nationality or region of origin. Usually this term is reserved for highly skilled, white and otherwise privileged individuals from Europe, North America and Australia. P Leonard, Expatriate Identities in Postcolonial Organizations: Working Whiteness, Farnham: Ashgate, 2010. 34 S Grimm & A Harmer, Diversity in Donorship: The Changing Landscape of Official Humanitarian Aid-Aid Donorship in Central Europe, London: odi, 2005; and P Kragelund, 'The return of non-dac donors to Africa: new prospects for African development?', Development Policy Review, 26(5), 2008, pp 555-584. 35 The Humanitarian system includes UN agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent and ingos. UN agencies are characterised by a higher expatriate to national staff ratio than ingos. P Harvey, A Stoddard, A Harmer & G Taylor with V DiDomenico & L Brander, The State of the Humanitarian System: Assessing Performance and Progress-A Pilot Study, London: alnap/odi, 2010, p 21. 36 D Rajak & J Stirrat, 'Parochial cosmopolitanism and the power of nostalgia', in D Mosse (ed), Adventures in Aidland: The Anthropology of Professionals in International Development, New York: Berghahn Books, 2011, p 164. 37 The courses included respondents from a broad range of countries and organisations (large and small ngos, Red Cross/Red Crescent, UN organisations). Half the respondents came from the global North whereas the other half came from the global South. In the other course two-thirds came from the global North and one-third from the global South. Some participants paid for the course themselves, others obtained stipends from foundations or funding from their organisations. 38 The high level of educational attainment of my respondents might be a sampling effect as the majority of interviews were conducted during a university-based course. 39 MacLachlan et al, The Aid Triangle; and M Barnett, Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism, Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011. 40 D Mosse, Cultivating Development: An Ethnography of Aid Policy and Practice, London: Pluto, 2005. 41 Buchanan-Smith with Scriven, ALNAP Study, p 4. 42 Harvey et al, The State of the Humanitarian System, p 39. 43 B Rossi, 'Aid policies and recipient strategies in Niger: why donors and recipients should not be compartmentalized into separate "worlds of knowledge"', in Lewis & Mosse, Brokers and Translators, pp 27-49. 44 J Gross Stein, 'Humanitarian organizations: accountable-why, to whom, for what and how?', in Barnett & Weiss, Humanitarianism in Question, pp 140-141. 45 E Crewe & E Harrison, Whose Development? An Ethnography of Aid, London: Zed, 1998, p 189. 46 S White, 'Thinking race, thinking development', Third World Quarterly, 23, 2002, pp 407-419. 47 SC Carr, RO Rugimbara, E Walkom & FH Bolitho, 'Selecting expatriates in developing areas: "country-of-origin" effects in Tanzania?', International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 25(4), 2001, pp 441-457. 48 S Hunter, 'What a white shame: race, gender, and white shame in the relational economy of primary health care organizations in England', Social Politics, 17(4), 2010, p 470. 49 MacLachlan et al, The Aid Triangle, p 28. 50 The salaries and living conditions of international staff vary by the type of organisation, assignment and position in the organisation. For example, volunteers in ngos can expect to receive a small monthly sum and experience very basic living conditions. Overall the salaries of international staff tend to be significantly higher than that of national staff. 51 A-M Fechter, 'Anybody at home? The inhabitants of Aidland', in A-M Fechter & H Hindman (eds), Inside the Everyday Lives of Development Workers: The Challenges and Futures of Aidland, Bloomfield, CT: Kumarian, 2011, pp 131-149. 52 Sara de Jong, 'False binaries: altruism and egoism in ngo work', in Fechter & Hindman (eds), Inside the Everyday Lives of Development Workers, pp 21-40. 53 A-M Fechter, '"Making kin" while "caring for strangers"? Kinning as a form of relating among aid workers', paper presented at the 'World Conference on Humanitarian Studies: Changing Realities of Conflict and Crisis', Tufts University, 2011. 54 P Walker & D Maxwell, Shaping the Humanitarian World, New York: Routledge, 2008, p 119. 55 R David, A Mancini & I Guijit, 'Bringing systems into line with values: the practice of accountability, learning and planning system (alps)', in Eyben, Relationships for Aid, pp 133-153. 56 JR Owen, '"Listening to the rice grow": the local-expat interface in Lao-based international ngos', Development in Practice, 20(1), 2010, pp 99-112. 57 Harvey et al, The State of the Humanitarian System, p 36. 58 Cf. Crewe & Harrison, Whose Development?. 59 As long as representative data about aid workers are not available, the interaction between gender and nationality in the aid context can only be analysed on the basis of qualitative studies such as this one. 60 MacLachlan et al, The Aid Triangle. 61 Walker & Russ, Professionalising the Humanitarian Sector

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