Humanitarianism in the Modern World2020

"The book takes a fresh look at humanitarian action through the concept of moral economy. It suggests a revised periodisation of humanitarianism by analogy to politico-economic regimes, rather than geopolitical sequencing: moving from ad hoc humanitarianism (c. 1800-1900); to organised humanitarianism (c. 1900-70); and expressive humanitarianism (since c. 1970). It moves the focus of the history of humanitarianism from the imperatives of crisis management in the outside world to pragmatic mechanisms of fundraising, relief efforts on the ground, and accounting, thus correlating their history with that of voluntary action and broader societal trends. The cases moreover provide new insights into the history of three humanitarian causes. The study of Irish famine relief in the 1840s...