Humanitarian Business

With some 50 million people living under duress and threatened bywars and disasters in 2012, the demand for relief worldwide hasreached unprecedented levels. Humanitarianism is now amulti-billion dollar enterprise, and aid agencies are obliged torespond to a range of economic forces in order to 'stay inbusiness'. In his customarily hard-hitting analysis, Thomas G. Weiss offerspenetrating insights into the complexities and challenges of thecontemporary humanitarian marketplace. In addition to changingpolitical and military conditions that generate demand for aid,private suppliers have changed too. Today's political economyplaces aid agencies side-by-side with for-profit businesses,including private military and security companies, in a marketplacethat also is linked to global trade networks in illicit arms,natural resources, and drugs. This witch's brew is simmeringin the cauldron of wars that are often protracted and always costlyto civilians who are the very targets of violence. Whilebelligerents put a price-tag on access to victims, aid agenciespursue branding in a competition for 'scarce' resources relative tothe staggering needs. As marketization encroaches on traditionalhumanitarianism, it seems everything may have a priceÑfromaccess and principles, to moral authority and lives.