Overview
As ""natural"" disasters increase in frequency and scale, the cost of humanitarian assistance elbows development budgets aside. Catastrophes force aid agencies to look for immediate relief for the victims of apparently no-fault natural disasters. But how far is it possible to view such disasters as natural? This text argues that we allow ourselves to ignore the political dimensions of humanitarian aid and disaster relief, which operate as part of a far wider global battle for resources and markets. It highlights the links between disaster, aid, development and relief, placing case studies in the context of the globalization of the economy, the ""free"" market ideology of the industrialized nations, the rapacity of financial short-termism and the rise of new forms of colonialism. The book examines seven recent and, in some cases, continuing major disasters, and analyzes the political agendas that can be said to be common to all these disasters. It then puts forward a political framework for humanitarian aid, reviewing the possible consequences, the political issues to be addressed and possible ways forward.
Full Product Details
Author: Neil Middleton ,
Phil O’Keefe ,
Phil O'Keefe ,
Sam Moyo
Publisher: Pluto Press
Imprint: Pluto Press
Dimensions:
Width: 13.50cm
, Height: 1.50cm
, Length: 21.50cm
Weight: 0.285kg
ISBN: 9780745312248
ISBN 10: 0745312241
Pages: 202
Publication Date: 20 November 1997
Audience:
General/trade
,
Professional and scholarly
,
College/higher education
,
General
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: In Print
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Reviews
Most emergency humanitarian aid projects are a response to a natural catastrophe - flood or famine, drought or eruption. What Middleton and O'Keefe show in this chilling book is that such catastrophes are usually far more complex than that. Global politics may have little to do with whether a volcano erupts or not, but politics can play a large part in determining whether the poorest people are living in the areas of greatest danger. The analysis, which is very convincing, is far too complex to summarize here, but what they do show, using harrowing examples of recent disaster relief in Sudan, Rwanda, Afghanistan and elsewhere, is that humanitarian aid tends to ignore, to its great cost, global political and economic factors. This is not an easy book to read, but as an examination of the role market forces have to play in the relief and even the cause of catastrophes, it is masterful. (Kirkus UK)
Author Information
Neil Middleton was the author of Disaster and Development (Pluto, 1997), Negotiating Poverty (Pluto, 2001) and Rio Plus Ten (Pluto, 2003). He is also co-author, with Phil O'Keefe, of Redefining Sustainable Development (Pluto, 2001). Phil O'Keefe was Professor of Economic Development and Environmental Management at Northumbria University. He is also the Director of ETC-UK and co-author with Neil Middleton of Disaster and Development (Pluto, 1997), Redefining Sustainable Development (Pluto, 2001), Rio Plus Ten (Pluto, 2003) and co-editor of Negotiating Poverty (Pluto, 2003).
