Humanitarians in Hostile Territory

More than ever, humanitarian aid workers and diplomats are engaging with vulnerable populations in areas once considered too dangerous to touch. Drawing on decades of on-the-ground experience in conflict environments around the world, Van Arsdale and Smith offer this important and revealing guide to the ethics, theory, and practice of work outside so-called Green Zones of safety. On behalf of governments or NGOs, on missions ranging from complex humanitarian emergencies to post-war reconstruction, social scientists in interdisciplinary teams are operating in settings where the line between civilian and military projects is increasingly blurred. This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the realities of these new humanitarianisms and for the fields of international relations, anthropology, development studies, and peace studies. PART I: SETTING THE STAGE 1. Humanitarianism, Development, and Intervention A Moral Template / The Humanitarian Enterprise / The Development Enterprise / Warriors, Builders, Chaplains, and Humanitarians / Types of Change and Intervention / An Ethics of Cooperation and Intervention 2. Outside the Green Zone: Non-Permissive Areas of Operation The Green Zone/ "Country Operations" and "Country Teams" / Humanitarianism and Warfare / The Accidental War: The 2006 Crisis between Israel and Lebanon / Armed and Unarmed NSAs / The Privatization of War 3. In Situ Preliminary Assessments, Threat Analyses, and Kofi Annan's Lessons The Necessity of Preliminary Assessments / Provincial Reconstruction Teams / The Country Operations Plan / Preliminary Assessments and Humanitarian Interventions / Threat, Risk, and Vulnerability Analyses / Kofi Annan's Lessons PART II: ON SITE, IN ACTION 4. Training and Equipping for Deployment Personal Preparedness / Equipment Needs and Checklists / Training Protocols / Self-Doctoring Kits and Medical Training / Legal Checklists 5. Transit Operations, Communications, and Smart Technologies Transit Operations - Always Necessary, Often Controversial / Planning for Threats - Obviously Needed, Occasionally Ignored / Communications / Smart Technologies and Electronic Innovations / Message Dissemination and Public Relations 6. Best Practices for Hazardous Areas of Operation: Fixed Sites and Field Schools Military Fortresses, Bases, and Camps / Romanian Military Camps and Operations / Fixing Perimeters, Establishing Sites, and Security Operations / Permanent Urban Facilities / Permanent Rural Facilities / Permanent Remote Facilities / Temporary Remote Operations / Disengagement PART III: APPLICATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS 7. Foreign Service, Tribal Outreach, and Special Operations The United States Foreign Service / Tribal Outreach and Transition / Three Case Studies / The Battle for Anbar Province / Special Operations 8. Conclusion: Back to the Future A Non-Ideological Stance / Civil Society and Pragmatic Humanitarianism / The Co-Evolution of Warfare and Humanitarianism / Anthropology and the Military / Scenarios and Simulations / Coming Full Circle Appendix Bibliography