Cooperation from Crisis? Regional Responses to Humanitarian Emergencies

With the deteriorating humanitarian situation in
Syria and the broader Middle East in mind, this
report investigates how past examples of regional
responses to humanitarian crises have succeeded or
failed to meet humanitarian objectives, in order to
inform responses to contemporary crises. Second,
and as importantly, it assesses whether such
regional responses contributed to strengthening
regional integration and cooperation, paving the
way for increased regional stability and an
improved capacity to respond to emergencies.
The report looks at two very different humanitarian
crises: the war in the former Yugoslavia in
the 1990s and Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar in 2008,
respectively. It explores the ways in which countries
in each region and regional organizations
addressed humanitarian needs. The last section
then draws lessons from these past experiences that
could be applied in contemporary crises, especially
the one in Syria.