Saving ourselves? On rescue and humanitarian action

Content Provider	Scilit
Author	Radice, Henry
Copyright Year	2019
Description	This article contributes to the international political theory of humanitarianism by unpicking the politics of humanitarian action’s simplest expression: saving human lives in the name of humanity. Both saving lives and defining notions of common humanity are closely interrelated acts of power. What saving a life means depends on a prior definition of humanity; humanitarians’ acts of rescue are the measure of their commitment to humanity. The politics of rescue and the politics of humanity are inextricably linked. The article explores four facets of this nexus. First, it considers the meanings of rescue, from saving bodies to saving lives, linked to contingent understandings of humanity. Second, it turns to the rescuers, for whom rescue performs particular functions, not least the need to preserve a sense of self. Third, it situates their often narcissistic motives in relation to the consequences of humanitarian action. Fourth, it addresses the power imbalance inherent in rescue and the problem of causing harm. It concludes that rescue is always an act of presumption, but one that can be tempered by humanitarian actors willing to embrace their role as ‘moral politicians’ (Walzer), aware of their power and their dirty hands, and open to contrasting understandings of humanity.
Related Links	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/91277/1/Radice_Saving-ourselves.pdf https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/FE6AF8633A31A4B7B6707EE2DE0D3C7C/S0260210518000554a.pdf/div-class-title-saving-ourselves-on-rescue-and-humanitarian-action-div.pdf
Ending Page	448
Page Count	18
Starting Page	431
ISSN	02602105
e-ISSN	14699044
DOI	10.1017/s0260210518000554
Journal	Review of International Studies
Issue Number	3
Volume Number	45
Language	English
Publisher	Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publisher Date	2019-07-01
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Review of International Studies International Relations International Political Theory Humanitarian Intervention
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Sociology and Political Science Political Science and International Relations