A history of the humanitarian system: Western origins and foundations

While the humanitarian gesture – the will to alleviate the suffering of others – is centuries old and genuinely global, the development of the international humanitarian system as we know it today can be located both geographically and temporally. Its origins are in the Western and especially European experience of war and natural disaster, yet it is now active across the world in a range of operations: responding to needs in situations of conflict or natural disasters, supporting displaced populations in acute and protracted crises, risk reduction and preparedness, early recovery, livelihoods support, conflict resolution and peace-building. Over time, the efforts of the most prominent international actors – states, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), international agencies, the Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement – have coalesced into a loosely connected ‘system’, with links on the level of finances, operations, personnel and values (ALNAP, 2012: 15).1 They work in collaboration, complementarity or competition with other providers of humanitarian assistance, such as affected communities themselves, diaspora groups, religious organisations, national actors, militaries and the private sector.