History and Humanitarianism: A Conversation

Abstract

There has been an undeniable interest in recent years in the history of humanitarianism. It is a field that has grown quickly and, as a field of inquiry, it incorporates a vast spectrum of subjects: from the history of anti-slavery movements in the eighteenth century, emergency relief in times of famine in the nineteenth, responses to refugee crises in the twentieth, through to longer-term development and poverty eradication programmes during and after empire. It embraces both private philanthropy and public assistance, from individual states and intergovernmental agencies, and intersects with so many other broad themes, from histories of race and gender, human rights, conflict and security, and even the overall development of capitalist modernity. Each of these subjects in turn have their own historiographies, and all draw too on a vast and well-established literature from across the social sciences and humanities. The number of books and articles addressing all of these concerns have expanded exponentially over the last decade or so, and new journals such as Humanity have appeared devoted to their historical analysis. Past and Present has not been immune from these historiographical trends. Recently, we have published pieces by Andrew MacDonald on Assyrian charity collectors, Mark Frost on the ‘overseas aid craze’ in the colonial Straits Settlements, Michelle Tusan on early humanitarian films and a viewpoint on the history of human rights by Stefan-Ludwig Hoffmann, as well as the responses from Sam Moyn and Lynn Hunt, which generated a huge amount of interest, particularly online.1 Because there has been so much of this work, and so much of a high quality, it seems an opportune moment to pause and reflect on why so many scholars are turning to the history of humanitarianism, broadly defined. There have been several of these interventions in recent years, many of them providing wonderful surveys of the field. But what is particularly apparent is that there is a growing number of historians who have chosen to research the history of humanitarianism as their first specialization. This ‘conversation’ brings a group of these together to discuss their own involvement in the field, why they think it has taken off, where they see it going and what they consider its strengths and weaknesses to be. Emily Baughan is a lecturer in British history at the University of Sheffield working on internationalism and humanitarianism in the twentieth century, with a particular interest in child welfare. She is currently completing a book entitled Saving the Children: Humanitarianism, Internationalism and Empire, 1915–1970. Eleanor Davey is a historian of France working at the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester and the author of Idealism beyond Borders: The French Revolutionary Left and the Rise of Humanitarianism, 1954–1988.2 Bronwen Everill is a historian of the Atlantic World at Cambridge University and the author of Abolition and Empire in Sierra Leone and Liberia.3 Kevin O’Sullivan is a lecturer in global history at National University of Ireland, Galway and the author of Ireland, Africa and the End of Empire: Small State Identity in the Cold War, 1955–75.4 Tehila Sasson is an assistant professor of Britain and the World at Emory University currently completing her first monograph provisionally entitled, We Are the World: Humanitarian Ethics, Global Markets and the End of Empire. There are many others who might have been approached. The opinions here are therefore partial, though the purpose of this conversation is not to offer a survey of all the scholarship on the history of humanitarianism. Instead, what follows is, literally, a conversation. It is meant to provoke to and the is the which follows in the that it all it and we it to of on a and why first in the of Emily Baughan to a history of humanitarianism. humanitarianism as a through which to a internationalism as the of on the history of the the in the of and it as of the literature on the internationalism and in the twentieth But where much of the new literature on internationalism on such as the of of the to think the and the of internationalism the they in in or in to humanitarianism as a of through which during the It by and which with British to in a to a to and child movements a to through which to and why the and of both internationalism not as it in or as it in the of and across the It in the of and Bronwen and with and together a of the of and on and in that that what of a there a of scholars working on this such wonderful and has been so have to that first is the and of see as a of Bronwen Everill have a interest in the history of it in the It in the of on the of that to see the the of by the and their to of and as by the of the as Emily of and on by the of Sierra Leone and which from particular anti-slavery of what to the of humanitarianism a the on the this the of and on the the to that at the of all of this is an interest in the that humanitarianism and by have of this by the in which a of this early of during from or to the humanitarian and many working in and on humanitarian in by with them and their own humanitarian and the of humanitarian in the with historical an the of humanitarianism as an of the history of humanitarianism a of at of the development of of with the in and Africa in Eleanor Davey to humanitarianism as of an interest in human rights histories over the have research has of the of a on the history of human rights, and on French responses to conflict in the number of the in of humanitarian a research with an it the of that why such of the aid they so they other and who in these that work, of own French on of and what they offer and they much to of the field of humanitarian this after that the as of and It to at the Humanitarian in the Institute that this field, its with the and of its a that both interest in humanitarianism and on its have been by to what of a a the of historical to the of as a in in the it to of the and of humanitarianism and human rights as a of in their own has Kevin the a as an of to the to of and its on in the of the twentieth which the of first a of at and the as of and the in interest in what and to with these The the the in humanitarianism as a which the of the humanitarian in and in the of the twentieth century, is an to that to think the of states and in the the that this interest in humanitarianism is in a the of aid in the here in the and it to the that of and and with the of and others to see and as a and the global an on the own of with or of the is not to the of who with humanitarian in humanitarianism, to why it these of even in and where it is as a of global Tehila Sasson as a to this field. the where in human rights and humanitarianism have been as to of and to offer to and first with the of and during in to the to the field as well as rights and humanitarianism, from a too that of of and with and in that not rights with them an of to and the of particularly to why and what of to an and global historian during the and the on to why by and an of this high beyond a particular historiographical It to to in a global through and history of rights, aid and with an an in It meant that monograph has not been as broadly the rights, in the of and their with the history of the in that a particularly that to these both and global the has a the history of in Britain in the eighteenth to in during the century, humanitarianism in Britain in with It an to what to this of aid during a of the of in Britain and the it to of these by beyond the of the and its It to the of the a of to see as of the and it the of and its own with the why think the history of humanitarianism has so much interest from scholars in recent Tehila Sasson the history of humanitarianism is not of anti-slavery have the of humanitarian and the of the twentieth and historians have to humanitarian and the eighteenth and the early twentieth But it in the early that this literature a it has so as a to the of a decade of in the and with the of across the of and to with what it to and in the of a her from scholars with the of her the humanitarian and the by these scholars with the and which and why a the at the of their analysis. to this a decade and with a turn and global a new of scholarship the and of human rights and humanitarian that turn the of to the and new have and why and through aid it is to the history of humanitarianism from literature on human rights, and particularly the of Sam Moyn and Lynn historians of Africa and have the history of development and it and in to the literature of human rights that a new of literature It has so, that that this not a to the of human rights or humanitarianism. it a over what that a of and or not we to or and think as the of a that this historiographical a where many history programmes have been there has been a and to a of history with who a their research and public are the is with the and this is as we and in this growing field. Emily Baughan The growing interest in histories of humanitarianism is from the of global history at the the of in the of The history of humanitarianism new on internationalism and such as the of and the and is with the history of human rights, field that has expanded in recent of these as of the of as has this moment has we so of and that we the that humanitarian histories of a of internationalism and of have been with the of this we a to histories of in the British the of and in the a literature on Cold we to think the and of internationalism as we on its and the in which humanitarian histories have to the The new of the of a number of humanitarian such as the and and in the of to a of There are in Recently, the a Global providing scholars working on other humanitarianism and think the that this have on the development of scholarship to as we think the as well as of Bronwen Everill Tehila and Emily have to the and a that with research and There has been a of scholarship Sierra Leone in Past and Present is a recent which at the as the of historical interest in The of the of the of the British in and generated research of which by the Institute at and new on the of This and think Tehila and Emily are to in this in it a the of to too the the of that Emily in which to the Sierra Leone a on the of and with The historical anti-slavery of and and in the in meant that both the and historical humanitarianism, and together in think this to these of historiographical and the of and together with and that of at are in their particular the field, and, it humanitarianism has been a of there are of and to Eleanor Davey to in here is the in which humanitarian have their own the recent of there of humanitarian or by the of on the history of the or in the and, on the of The has of its own of and so they are in purpose from we see the of as to that in that it interest and of these a from their of the public We a on of the as of what it to as a humanitarian It is to the of we think its as a of historical Humanitarianism, of the that from it are and have the is a and It an of in its own the with it there are the history of or of and it a all of other not is the field we are to much the recent of the by the of and who work, have of much is the is it is Kevin with Tehila and Emily that the turn to global history many scholars particularly with and what of in a global to the of The turn that not by it and to from all over the have not been a that global historians the of that their the of humanitarianism, a with and movements has scholars to and over with global history is a of its times in a We are through of with the and the rights of particularly in the It to see the on research in this field. we a we the of humanitarian history in with a on aid and Empire of Humanity published at a public on at its the is the book that scholars of It by a of that the purpose and of The and generated a of so too books the and the The history of humanitarianism at the of the to the of as beyond an and a growing public the and of consider to have been the in the think there are weaknesses or that we have to Kevin The field has so in such a of there have been several that have we the of and the of the of and its through humanitarian and the on the of human on the and humanitarianism is it too has to the humanitarian the others to that the recent development has been in we the of humanitarian to the Cold a to think in of the history of this new that the of and development that the We that research as of a history of and colonial But the of the in it has to think beyond the of in and the and a and the in the It has to the of and by global historians at the of the on the and and the World has the of states in the of global we have to in these We are to and in a global the field as a it on the global and on of we what it to on the of these to we have been too to the and of to of the World so of the that we to all that not that we are all on the in we this conversation the has been in and to of think it a pause and we the aid on as or we it in as an or of on the to the rights and poverty from responses in to who in emergency to in from the of that and movements in the We to the the of humanitarianism them as Bronwen Everill of the that is historians is in humanitarianism the There is of at the which is together the with to think or in humanitarianism during the Cold humanitarianism as it in other and other might beyond of and in of and that Kevin This as well as scholars in other have that the histories of humanitarianism on which the of the of working on have this in the of charity the and there has been on the and as Kevin that has not the of that have been working This seems to an of development the history of humanitarianism a in its own and we that to and not as a of of and is not to that have not been to there is to there But this is an where in global history and the histories of humanitarianism in much the that the history of humanitarianism well with the new history and Cold Emily Baughan where Kevin on the of the in this the the of broad the of the twentieth century, humanitarianism has both and there is that the of and it is or even have in at the of humanitarian it and of The we historical of humanitarianism, the we from to a humanitarian or humanitarianism. We think the huge of and This conversation the we with other at and the historical on the of the of humanitarian aid and the in these of this first of humanitarian histories on the new and of aid There is so much that and both to such humanitarian the and to beyond of to histories have a to from in of histories and to of humanitarianism in the Global We to the on that these on in other in of to is the they a of the and of humanitarian and have and by aid as to their colonial humanitarian have been of in to their global The the to in the in it a the they that all a in and, by so, all their it might a of humanitarian have in a particular in all of their have been on a of we that humanitarian in in the the and not we with humanitarianism has been in the a of the of humanitarian we to at the to the of We to think the of states in the and of humanitarian the of Tehila Sasson on the to as has been of the the field has been the in which the history of humanitarianism which is in many an field has been with the global and the field the of global and the to and beyond of humanitarian historians they a that the of the who are of this as historians of Africa or have aid that aid The is, what are historians of or to and what they to a conversation that in other or as own work, have it to on by and histories and as have both and the have to the of and to these their own to a which has been from the conversation so which is to the the and of during the famine and, a of the history many of much of the in this field has on the and of aid and its to and But what is the the global and humanitarian not much has been through aid that is an to a to is global and have with and they to the global social have and of the aid historians have much to offer by such particular historical and that they historical Eleanor Davey The is it the of the that is so and in humanitarianism. But so think we are at of a of a of the that we in this and too in history not to it or we this is a we and working to the even it the and to own through with this in this is the humanitarian in the of humanitarian to history that the who in has to a of has been a and a its partial, the to much is there to histories beyond a the other of the histories the is on in Empire of what as in as in of not that we even an global history of of humanitarianism over But think we are of what is to number of are the of humanitarianism to beyond the of the on we might are there other in which think the in the Eleanor Davey in on the twentieth century, to of humanitarianism, is that the of as of the as a of by We have to at these as and it the of or as well as the or of in and have by in in the to and the of colonial in not to the of this is of the is and has been have of the history of in on these particularly of in that the of the to this this of to that beyond the not of at the the a that to or even they to research is an of that we as scholars and as in a the and of to Bronwen Everill think we are going to that humanitarianism is a of we to think other of it have in charity in Africa This to humanitarianism and humanitarianism might with the a and and the have to and with the refugee crises from Sierra Leone and the of to the This might where social might the The the to these of which think aid or or the of The is, as Eleanor of with of humanitarianism and in the colonial and humanitarianism their But it is to beyond this to think what we we think it as a that is in other and to own in the eighteenth and the see the and which currently is the development of have at from the through to the and in in of to the and by both the and and the is, what to of the of beyond the of humanitarianism as in a particular in the there are research in have their of aid in the with emergency relief they have to or of in they have on of This is of where on of the going on in in as Tehila and both and in aid Eleanor the think all to a to and histories of humanitarianism. might as well as what it is that a particular and in humanitarianism. Kevin last of what that is that it in and is or in The subjects of research colonial so in not by and, global to the of through of agencies, and working the in the of states and has the to of humanitarianism. has in several of the in field are at the and of of Cold and is a of and have on the of humanitarianism in an in the and early twentieth to of the the of to think and beyond a from and of charity to the of and we are the history of humanitarianism as a global we to at it on that field is a global history of We that the of to on we have what that of humanitarian many what the of and in crises in Emily Baughan that in the years we see on the of humanitarian the the of aid has been and, at by its of the histories to in an The and of to these other histories of that an or a of and as they the are going to in their to all of the of and of of these of to the of and not think scholars working on an to from the of their We to think the we Past and Present draw on from and on of the from to aid by and it others have we humanitarian the the of in are a of the the of in programmes on on the and have across are of a in the years, the aid that they and the of its of working on an these on We to draw the of have a huge amount from historians such as and working on and who with aid as of the of development and a of the of aid and development have a to offer in of the of who and by Tehila Sasson to which is to a conversation global who are the subjects of and global The history of aid has on and as the of its But we historical who not as who have been in a history of human rights and

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