Politics of Humanitarianism: Kihato & Landau, Ticktin, Fassin Flashcards
For Fassin, what does humanitarianism imply?
a politics of life:
- risking lives to save others
- selecting which lives to save
- selecting which causes to defend/disown
- representing humans as victims
Why does Fassin disagree with the idea that politics is separate from humanitarianism?
Because it reinforces the idea that political spaces are for the dominant group (not refugees) and ignores that politics arise in refugee camps
What evidences does Fassin give to demonstrate that humanitarianism and politics are merging?
- states have developed their own humanitarian agencies like France
- humanitarian interventions are part of wars
- ministers used to be humanitarians or politicians are heading humanitarian agencies*
politics of life
it’s based on a binary of weak/strong and it sides with the weak. By doing so, it essentializes refugees as victims
what phenomenon does Miriam Ticktin observe in refugee camps?
Using the example of “The Jungle” in Calais, she notes how practices of surveillance and control are used to paint refugees as threatening at the same time that they are seen as victims
What methods of surveillance are seen in camps?
CCTV footage, fences around camp, biometrics
What does surveillance in camps demonstrate for Ticktin?
the ambivalence between innocence/threat that refugees represent for nation-states
stealth humanitarianism
humanitarianism that does not visibilize refugees (which leads to their essentialization and after prevents them from acclimating/being welcome in the long run)
- forging horizontal alliances with local actors and authorities
- not based on help from state
What types of horizontal alliances do Kihato and Landau think about?
public order policing, registration of new businesses, access to bank accounts, housing, and healthcare, instead of merely immigration of asylum policies
