Paper details

Paper authors	Maryam Zarnegar Deloffre
In panel on	Hierarchies and Exclusion in Humanitarianism
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

This paper takes a relational approach to understanding the role of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response (SCHR) in the development of standards in the humanitarian field. In mapping the humanitarian field, the paper shows how two types of field interactions produce SCHR’s position of authority. Within the field, SCHR bridges multiple practical logics and actors who subscribe to them, and externally, it is a boundary actor that builds bridges to other fields, such as development, and translates between policy and practice. SCHR’s position as a boundary spanner produces its ability to steer metagovernance processes in the humanitarian field, convene and mobilize actors, and create spaces for learning and reflection. Finally, the mapping analysis shows SCHR draws its authority from a very particular type of humanitarian practice community, which emphasizes rule-based coordination as the means to improving the quality and accountability of humanitarian assistance. By focusing on rule-based coordination, SCHR defines what game is being played. Though it seeks input and participation in deciding the rules, the overall agenda is set by SCHR. These findings suggest while field dynamics generate SCHR’s authority and ability to lead, they also reproduce current hierarchies that favor humanitarian actors from the ‘global North.’

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