Towards good humanitarian government: The role of the affected statein disaster response

The report begins by outlining the roles and responsibilities of concerned states in the management and delivery of humanitarian aid, with a particular focus on states’ responsibilities towards their citizens. This chapter also explores the wide variety of structures states have developed to administer and organise relief, and the civil and military
agencies that can be deployed in response to disaster. This sets out the context for the chapters that follow, which tease out the implications an understanding of the role of affected
states has for the principles and practices of the international humanitarian system. Thus, Chapter 3 explores the process of assessment and analysis by which aid agencies decide how to relate to states, and states decide whether or not to appeal for international assistance. Chapter 4 examines what key humanitarian, development and fragile states principles mean for state roles in disaster response, and Chapter 5 looks at
how international humanitarian action can both build and erode state capacity. Chapter 6 looks at recent changes in the financing of humanitarian action, and how these changes
might enhance the role of affected states in disaster response. The report concludes with a final chapter examining the implications of the analysis for international aid agencies and
governments.