About this title: Rieff examines the unique role that humanitarian agencies play and addresses the question of whether their advocacy and increasingly close working relationships with governments may have co-opted them. He draws lessons from Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo, and Afghanistan.
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Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 10/2002
ISBN-13:9780684809779ISBN:068480977X
Description: Good in good dust jacket. Good, In good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 384 p. Ex-Library expected imperfections. read more
Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. 068480977X Former library item may have library binding and show stamps, stickers or other marks. Items not meeting quality expectations may be returned. Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. read more
Description: Good. Only lightly used. Book has minimal wear to cover and binding. A few pages may have small creases and minimal underlining. Book selection as BIG as Texas. read more
Description: Fair. 068480977X Books in acceptable condition may show significant wear and have writing or highlighting. Will be shipped promptly! read more
Description: Fair. 068480977X Books in acceptable condition may show significant wear and have writing or highlighting. Will be shipped promptly! read more
Description: Very good. Book has appearance of only minimal use. All pages are undamaged with no significant creases or tears. With pride from Motor City. All books guaranteed. Best Service, Best Prices. read more
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780743252119ISBN:074325211X
Description: Good. Cover and pages may have some wear or writing. Binding is tight. We ship daily Monday-Friday. Delivery Confirmation included on all domestic orders. read more
Description: Good. Ex-Library Book-will contain Library Markings. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Description: Good. Light shelving wear with minimal damage to cover and bindings. Pages show minor use. Help save a tree. Buy all your used books from Green Earth Books. Read. Recycle and Reuse! read more
Description: Acceptable. 2003-Paperback----Used-Acceptable-Hall Street Books proudly ships from Brooklyn, NY. All orders are processed and shipped within 24 hours, M-F. 100% money back No-Worry guarantee with expedited delivery and delivery confirmation available. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780684809779ISBN:068480977X
Description: Very good. Hardcover. Good Used. Missing Dust Jacket. SKU: 12592331 All orders shipped within 1 business day. 14 day money back guarantee ISBN: 9780684809779. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Date Published: 2002
ISBN-13:9780684809779ISBN:068480977X
Description: Very good. Hardcover. Good Used. Missing Dust Jacket. SKU: 12591826 All orders shipped within 1 business day. 14 day money back guarantee ISBN: 9780684809779. read more
"brilliantly written analysis providing observation, criticism and experience in a world often lacking reality. Best non-fiction book i've read this year."
"Couldn't have agreed more with his insights into the current state of 'humanitarianism'(especially from what I witnessed in Sudan), only he said it a lot more eloquently."
"A sombre assessment of the state of humanitarian aid in the new century. The great humanitarian disasters of recent times, Rieff, argues, have largely been human rights crises as well (Bosnia, Aceh, Rwanda, Kosovo, Afghanistan)--- caused by war and tyranny, and humanitarian groups, by trying to do more than just provide immediate aid to the victims, by trying to get at root causes, have become absorbed into the politics of the great powers and the agendas of donors. The tragedy, Rieff argues, is that humanitarianism and human rights can (and do) conflict. The efforts in Sarajevo to feed and house Bosnians saved lives, but took pressure off Europe and the US to take action to stop the Serb siege. Feeding Rwandan refugees and staving off a cholera epidemic in refugee camps in the Congo allowed genocidal Hutu militias time and resources to regroup in the camps. Acts by states to do necessary things to stop human rights disasters--- e.g., military intervention in Kosovo ---worsen humanitarian conditions in the short run. Rieff faults humanitarian groups for not seeing the contradictions and tragedy in such things, and for too readily becoming subcontractors of states and their militaries in a rush to Do Good. Rieff admires the field work of humanitarian agencies--- always dangerous, often volunteer work, brutally difficult, heartbreaking. But he calls for a sense of what the limits of aid are, and, more importantly, for a consideration of what the costs of humanitarian intervention can be, even in the most necessary cases. Rieff tries hard not to be a cynic or an utter pessimist, but he does argue forcefully for a sense of limits, and for a clear understanding that a human-rights based foreign policy and humanitarianism are not always the same thing."
"Ok, so I did not give this book four stars because I thought it was much fun to read. Had it also been fun to read I would have given it five stars no question. But, as much as it hurts, I think it's important for starry-eyed save-the-world types (like me, haha) to get acid dumped on their heads once in a while. Of course the problem with this book is that it essentially lists all the problems with humanitarianism in this century (its ineffectiveness, its essential lack of clarity and purpose) and then walks away leaving you just feeling like your eyes are burned out. But in the optimisic words of the author, "Given the choice between liberal imperialism and barbarism, I would take liberal imperialism every time," and this book is for those who want to see international humanitarianism's faults as a credo and keep going."
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