Enhancing Transatlantic Governance of Humanitarian Assistance
As part of the World Conference of
Humanitarian Studies, which will take place on 4-8 February 2009 in Groningen, the Netherlands, Global Public Policy institute is looking for papers for its panel on “Enhancing Transatlantic Governance of Humanitarian Assistance.”
The panel seeks to identify areas for enhancing transatlantic cooperation in the realm of humanitarian assistance. Far from being local events with only local effects, most humanitarian crises today create truly transnational problems. Beyond a shared desire to help, the transatlantic partners face a range of common challenges when natural disasters in developing countries merge with weak governance, chronic poverty, armed conflict and political instability to create `complex emergencies’. However, despite important activities and significant experiences in humanitarian assistance on both sides of the Atlantic, the related discussions often seem to run in parallel without merging to weave a genuine transatlantic strategic dialogue. While important efforts at enhanced donor coordination have been made, there remain significant political and conceptual differences relating to humanitarian values, concepts, and policy on both sides of the Atlantic.
The panel represents an opportunity for researchers, policy makers and practitioners to showcase and present their work as it relates to transatlantic governance of humanitarian aid. GPPi is interested in all viewpoints and encourages submissions from all interested parties.
Excellent submissions may be considered for publication as part of a policy paper series under the “Raising the Bar: Enhancing Transatlantic Governance of Disaster Relief and Preparedness” project. Preference will be given to those papers focusing directly on the role of the EU and its member states and the US government.
Final papers should be between 4 000 and 8 000 words, while abstracts submitted to the portal have a maximum length of 250 words. Papers should be completed before the conference date.
The deadline for submitting abstracts is October 1, 2008.
Please submit abstracts through the WCHS online portal found at:
http://webhost2.service.rug.nl/wchs/index.php?id=5
Details on the conference itself can be found at:
http://www.humanitarianstudies2009.org/
