The History and Practice of Humanitarian Intervention and Aid in Africa

Ambitious humanitarian military, economic and social interventions, undertaken by Western actors acting in defence of liberal values, have today become indelible features of Africa's engagement with the world. Yet the continent's long, complex historical relationship with Western humanitarian intervention, dating back to the origins of imperial engagement with the continent, is often overlooked in the study of contemporary African security and development issues. This volume responds to a need for greater historical grounding in the study of humanitarian intervention, by bringing together a wide and interdisciplinary range of contributors who explore the history, theory, and practice of humanitarian intervention in Africa. In doing so, it traces continuities in the discourse and practice of the concept as it evolved from the colonial past to the present, and argues that the West's colonial relationship with Africa is crucial for better understanding humanitarian intervention and how the legacies of colonialism continue to impact emerging international policy.

Bronwen Everill is Assistant Professor of Global History at Warwick University, UK. She completed her PhD at King's College London and held a research fellowship at Oxford University, both in the UK. She is the author of Abolition and Empire in Sierra Leone and Liberia (forthcoming). Her teaching and research focus on the history of humanitarianism in Africa.

Josiah Kaplan recently completed his DPhil at Oxford University, UK, where he researched issues related to global peace operations burden-sharing, peace enforcement, security sector reform, and African security. He has worked in Sierra Leone with UNDP, with UNDPKO and UNICEF in New York, USA, and with the Overseas Development Institute in London, UK.

Foreword; Jennifer Welsh
Introduction: Enduring Humanitarianisms in Africa; Bronwen Everill and Josiah Kaplan
1. Freetown, Frere Town, and the Kat River Settlement: Nineteenth Century Humanitarian Intervention and Precursors to Modern Refugee Camps; Bronwen Everill
2. Public Health or Public Good? Humanitarian Agendas and the Treatment of Leprosy in Uganda; Kathleen 3. Contraband Charity: German Humanitarianism in Contemporary Kenya; Nina Berman
4. 'Reading' British Armed Humanitarian Intervention in Sierra Leone, 2000-2002; Josiah Kaplan
5. Humanitarian Intervention in the Horn of Africa; Christopher Clapham
6. The Democratic Republic of Congo: The Land of Humanitarian Interventions; Claude Kabemba
7. Humanitarian Aspects of Interventions by the United Nations in Southern Africa; Christopher Saunders
8. The Nigerian Civil War and 'Humanitarian Intervention'; Michael Aaronson
9. Building State Effectiveness: Evolving Donor Approaches to Good Governance in Sub-Saharan Africa; Claire Leigh
10. Beyond Humanitarian Imperialism: The dubious origins of 'Humanitarian Intervention' and some rules for its future; Richard Drayton
Conclusion; Bronwen Everill and Josiah Kaplan