Humanitarian Diplomacy and Its Origins in Non-State Actors’ Diplomacy

Lili Chin, Geetha Govindasamy, Md. Nasrudin Md. Akhir

Abstract

The term humanitarian diplomacy has been gaining prominence in recent decades and is used by both state actors and non-state actors to describe their humanitarian activities. It was claimed to have emerged in the 1990s when the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty and the 1998 Rome Statute were adopted at the United Nations (UN) dominated by state actors. This study aims to examine the origins and initiators of humanitarian diplomacy. It proves that even though the term has become popular in recent decades, despite not having a universally recognized definition, humanitarian diplomacy is not a new form of diplomacy. Through research on literature, including recorded history from practitioners and scholars, this study argues that the origins of humanitarian diplomacy can be traced back to the efforts of non-state actors in the 19th century that led to the first Geneva Convention in 1864. The protagonist was Henry Dunant, a young Swiss businessperson turned humanitarian, whose advocacy led to the first Geneva Convention, which marked the beginnings of international humanitarian law that also codified humanitarian principles in international law for the first time. The conduct of humanitarian diplomacy initiated by Dunant has become the basis for ensuing humanitarian diplomacy to adopt subsequent treaties with the aim of reducing suffering in armed conflicts. It includes heavy involvement of non-state actors, strong public communication strategy that is driven by the impulses of achieving humanitarian objectives. There is a lack of study on the origins of humanitarian diplomacy as the existing literature is largely produced by practitioners who focus on their distinct ways of conducting humanitarian diplomacy. This research is expected to fill this gap in the literature.

 

Keywords: humanitarian diplomacy, non-state actor, Henry Dunant, international humanitarian law.

 

DOI: https://doi.org/10.55463/hkjss.issn.1021-3619.60.13

 


Full Text:

PDF


References


BARAKAT, S. (2019). Priorities and challenges of Qatar’s Humanitarian Diplomacy. CMI Brief, 2019(07). https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/6906-priorities-and-challenges-of-qatars-humanitarian-diplomacy.pdf

BELLONI, R. (2007). The trouble with humanitarianism. Review of International Studies, 33(3), 451-474. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210507007607

BERGER, J.-F. (1995). The Humanitarian Diplomacy of the ICRC and the Conflict in Croatia (1991-1992). International Committee of the Red Cross.

BERNARD, V. (2015). The humanitarian ethos in action. International Review of the Red Cross, 97(897/898). 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383115000831

BOISSIER, P. (1974). Henry Dunant. International Review of the Red Cross, 14(161), 395-419, https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/S0020860400085570a.pdf

BRAHIMI, L. (2007). Foreword. In L. MINEAR & H. SMITH (Eds.) Humanitarian Diplomacy: Practitioners and Their Craft (pp. xiv-xvi). United Nations University Press. https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:2476/pdf9789280811346.pdf

BUGNION, F. (2012). Birth of An Idea: The Founding of the International Committee of the Red Cross and of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement: From Solferino to the Original Geneva Convention (1859–1864). International Review of the Red Cross 94(888), 1299-1338, https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/irrc-888-bugnion.pdf

COOK, A. D., & GONG, L. (2021). Humanitarian diplomacy in the Asia-Pacific: Part I. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 6(3), 183–187. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911211045668

COOPER, A.F, ENGLISH, J. & THAKUR, R. (2002). Preface. In COOPER, A. F., ENGLISH, J. & THAKUR, R. (Eds.). Enhancing Global Governance: Towards A New Diplomacy? (pp. vii-xi). United Nations University Press. https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:2423/ebrary928081074X.pdf

DAVENPORT, D. (2002). The New Diplomacy. Policy Review, 1 December 2002. https://www.hoover.org/research/new-diplomacy.

DAVUTOGLU, A. (2013). Turkey’s humanitarian diplomacy: Objectives, challenges and prospects. Nationalities Papers, 41(6), pp. 865-870. https://doi.org/10.1080/00905992.2013.857299

DE LAURI, A. (2018). Humanitarian diplomacy: A new research agenda. CMI Brief, 2018 (4). https://www.cmi.no/publications/file/6536-humanitarian-diplomacy-a-new-research-agenda.pdf

DONELLI, F. (2017). Features, aims and limits of Turkey’s humanitarian diplomacy. Central European Journal of International and Security Studies. 11 (3). 59-83. https://www.cejiss.org/images/issue_articles/2017-volume-11-issue-3/59-cejiss-cejiss-0317-electronic.pdf

DUNANT, H. (2010). A Memory of Solferino. (American Red Cross, Trans.). International Committee of the Red Cross. (Original work published 1862). https://www.icrc.org/eng/assets/files/publications/icrc-002-0361.pdf

EGELAND, J. (2013). Humanitarian diplomacy. In A.F. COOPER, J. HEINE & R. THAKUR (Eds.), The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy (pp. 352-368). Oxford University Press.

FARER, T. J. (1980). Toward a humanitarian diplomacy: A primer for policy. In FARER, T. J. (Ed.) Toward A Humanitarian Diplomacy: A Primer for Policy (pp. 1-48). New York University Press.

GONG, L. (2021). Humanitarian diplomacy as an instrument for China’s image-building. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 6(3), 238–252. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911211019257

HARROFF-TAVEL, M. (2006). The Humanitarian Diplomacy of the International Committee of the Red Cross. https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/other/humanitarian-diplomacy-icrc.pdf

HILHORST, D. (2018). Classical humanitarianism and resilience humanitarianism: Making sense of two brands of humanitarian action. Journal of International Humanitarian Action, 3(15), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41018-018-0043-6

INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT SOCIETIES (IFRC). (2009). Humanitarian Diplomacy Policy. https://www.ifrc.org/sites/default/files/Humanitarian-Diplomacy-Policy_EN.pdf

INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT. (2011). The Power of Humanitarian Diplomacy. 2011 (3). https://www.icrc.org/en/doc/assets/files/publications/magazine-red-cross-red-crescent-3-2011.pdf

JOHARI, J. C. (1997). International Relations and Politics: Theoretical Perspective. (2nd ed.), Sterling Publishers.

Johnson, M. R. (2016, April). On the ground in Turkey. Foreign Service Journal, 93 (3), 23-27. http://www.afsa.org/sites/default/files/april2016fsj.pdf

JOSSELIN, D. & WALLACE, W. (2001). Non-state Actors in World Politics: A Framework. In JOSSELIN, D. & WALLACE, W. (Eds.) Non-state Actors in World Politics (pp. 1-20). Palgrave Publishers. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403900906_1

PENG, L. (2021). China’s evolving humanitarian diplomacy: Evidence from China’s disaster-related aid to Nepal. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 6(3), 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/20578911211019255

MCFARLAND, S. (2017). A brief history of an unsung hero and leader – Jean Henry Dunant and the founding of the Red Cross at the Geneva Convention. International Journal of Leadership and Change. 5(1), 41-46. https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=ijlc

MELZER, N. (2016). International Humanitarian Law: A Comprehensive Introduction. International Committee of the Red Cross. https://shop.icrc.org/download/ebook?sku=4231/002-ebook

MILLS, K. (2005). Neo-humanitarianism: The role of international humanitarian norms and organizations in contemporary conflict. Global Governance, 11(2), 161-183. http://www.jstor.org/stable/27800563

MINEAR, L. (2007). The craft of humanitarian diplomacy. In MINEAR, L. & SMITH, H. (Eds.) Humanitarian Diplomacy: Practitioners and Their Craft (pp. 7-35). United Nations University Press. https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:2476/pdf9789280811346.pdf

O’HAGAN, J. (2016). Australia and the promise and the perils of humanitarian diplomacy, Australian Journal of International Affairs, 70 (6), 657-669. https://doi.org/10.1080/10357718.2016.1220495

REGNIER, P. (2011). The emerging concept of humanitarian diplomacy: Identification of a community of practice and prospects for international recognition. International Review of the Red Cross, 93(884), 1211-1237. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1816383112000574

SMITH, H. (2007). Humanitarian diplomacy: Theory and practice. In MINEAR, L. & SMITH, H. (Eds.) Humanitarian Diplomacy: Practitioners and Their Craft (pp. 36-62). United Nations University Press. https://collections.unu.edu/eserv/UNU:2476/pdf9789280811346.pdf

STRAUS, O. S., WHEELER, E., ION, T., LANGE, C., MARBURG, T., & WHELESS, J. (1912). Humanitarian diplomacy of the United States. Proceedings of the American Society of International Law at Its Annual Meeting (1907-1917), 6, 45-59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25656434

THURER, D. (2007). Dunant’s pyramid: Thoughts on the “humanitarian space”. International Review of the Red Cross, 89(865), 47-61. https://international-review.icrc.org/sites/default/files/irrc-865-3.pdf

VEUTHEY, M. (2012). Humanitarian Diplomacy: Saving It When It Is Most Needed. In Humanitarian Space. Webster University Geneva 16th Humanitarian Conference. Geneva, Webster University (pp. 195-208). https://christusliberat.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Humanitarian-Diplomacy-Michel-VEUTHEY.pdf


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.