Product Description: As of early 2010, more than two million U.S. troops have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet the American public is neither much engaged in the issues of these two wars nor particularly knowledgeable about the troops’ experiences, which have ranged from positive and energizing to searing and debilitating...read more

* Probes the reasons behind governmental and nongovernmental responses to urgent human need* Will be one of the most important and influential assessments of humanitarianism in a decade* Up-to-date field research, extensive interviews with practitioners and donor government officials, and over sixty collective years of work in humanitarian and development issues* Accessibly written for the concerned international public, undergraduate and graduate students, practitioners, and analysts troubled by the direction of today s humanitarian actionThe charitable impulse has a history rooted in ethics. But much of what passes for humanitarianism today is a commercial enterprise, manipulated by market forces of supply and demand. And since the launch of the "war on terror," national security interests and political objectives have increasingly come into play. The Charity of Nations probes the reasons behind governmental and nongovernmental responses to urgent human need. It explains why some crises get the lion s share of attention and resources, while others are essentially forgotten.Vibrantly contrasting cases of Afghanistan, East Timor, and Sierra Leone, among others, illustrate how foreign policy and domestic politics have shaped what has become the business of humanitarianism. The authors call for a revamped humanitarian structure--one that eliminates the ambiguities and confusion that exist today. They argue for a shift away from rampant political and commercial intrusions, and a rededication to multilateralism, genuine accountability, and trust.

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Product Description: The use of sanctions is increasing in the post-Cold War world. Along with this increase, the international community must ask itself whether sanctions 'work,' in the sense that they incite citizens to change or overthrow an offending government, and whether sanctions are really less damaging than the alternative of war...read more (view table of contents, read Amazon.com's description)

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Product Description: An examination of the humanitarian practices of private aid agencies, international organizations and governments. Case studies and examples from around the world are used to support the authors' arguments that the global community should make greater efforts at conflict prevention...read more

Product Description: Distilling critical lessons from the recent experiences of aid professionals, this handbook presents practical, illustrative and creative approaches for personnel to adopt in specific conflict areas. It examines principles, offers policy guidelines and proposes operational strategies...read more

Product Description: For nearly a decade, international efforts to combat famine and food shortages around the globe have concentrated on the critical situations in sub-Saharan Africa. In the Sudan, the largest country in Africa, prolonged drought, complicated by civil strife and debilitating economic problems, has caused widespread human suffering...read more

Product Description: Helping People in an Age of Conflict: Toward a New Professionalism in US Voluntary Humanitarian Assistance