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Expressions of interest for a commissioned literature review on humanitarian action in East Asia are now welcome, as part of a project of the Humanitarian Policy Group of the Overseas Development Institute (HPG/ODI) entitled ‘A Global History of Humanitarian Action.’ This project aims to bring a historical perspective to practitioner and policy debates about the humanitarian sector. On the one hand, in drawing attention to often neglected lessons from the past, the project seeks to help the formal sector better understand its own evolution and thereby its current situation. On the other hand, it allows this evolution to be understood as part of a broader narrative of humanitarian practice that includes actors and structures independent of the Western experience. By examining the Northern and Southern histories, including both their points of difference and their points of convergence, it seeks to bring frameworks of analysis into alignment with the reality of today’s multifaceted humanitarianism.
As part of this project, we are assembling some regional perspectives on humanitarian action in the twentieth century, to complement the history of the international, essentially Western sector. The two regions we are focusing on are East and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East and North Africa. For each of these we are commissioning a review of relevant literature in the form of a chronological account of major crises and humanitarian developments in the region.
The brief would suit a researcher at doctoral or postdoctoral level, with research experience relating to humanitarian issues the region and, preferably, an understanding of history methodologies. The review would be based on academic materials as well as some grey literature, and is intended to capture the regional perspective on humanitarian action during the twentieth century. Fluency in at least one relevant language is therefore essential.
For further detail on the terms of reference for the review, please contact Eleanor Davey at e.davey@odi.org.uk. Additional information about the Global History project, including the research framework, is available at http://www.odi.org.uk/work/projects/details.asp?id=2547&title=global-history-modern-humanitarian-action-moving-forward-hpg
To express interest in this position, please send a copy of your CV, highlighting any relevant experience, to Eleanor Davey at e.davey@odi.org.uk, by Friday 15 June 2012.
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