Humanitarian mobilization in Central and Eastern Europe : Local, national and international perspectives

Abstract

This book explores actors, practices and meanings of humanitarianism in Central and Eastern Europe during the twentieth century. It brings together a diverse group of scholars who offer a cutting-edge perspective on how wars and conflict, state-building processes, nationalist activism and policies, socialist politics or regime changes influenced the emergence and trajectories of humanitarian aid. It examines how international ideas and discourses about humanitarian aid have shaped its practices in the region. It also highlights the agency of aid recipients and looks at how policymakers and experts in the region co-produced paths of humanitarian aid giving. Lastly, it analyses the emergence, development and effects of local humanitarian initiatives; thus, it challenges unidirectional narratives of international and Western-centric humanitarianism.