Humanitarianism and peace: On the (im-)possible inclusion of humanitarian assistance into peacebuilding efforts

The nature of intra-state conflicts and the political manipulation of humanitarian aid in the 1990s has led to the popular postulate that humanitarianism has to be included as an instrument for peacebuilding efforts. So far, the debate surrounding such a linkage has largely ignored the nature and behaviour of aid agencies. This paper focuses on the feasibility of including humanitarian action into peacebuilding strategies by taking a closer look at the reality of humanitarian organisations. Based upon the concept of peacebuilding, three sets of prerequisites for successfully combining humanitarian and peacebuilding efforts will be discussed: the compatibility of the objectives pursued in humanitarianism and peacebuilding, the perception of politics by aid agencies, and their capacity to analyse the political context of aid. The analysis highlights the heterogeneity of humanitarian actors and concludes that their contribution to peacebuilding can only be very limited.