Paper details
| Paper authors | Hatice Kübra Koçak |
| In panel on | ‘Real’ Humanitarian Governance: Accountability, Advocacy, and Alternatives |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting |
In-Person / |
Abstract
This paper examines how local-to-local partnerships can reshape humanitarian governance by challenging the dominant vertical power structures that continue to marginalize local actors in international humanitarian systems and explores how horizontal collaboration between local NGOs serves as a form of ‘real’ humanitarian governance which is negotiated, contextual, and driven by the agency of crisis-affected communities. While global localization agendas emphasize inclusion, funding, and participation of local actors, local NGOs are still often confined to implementing roles, excluded from strategic decision-making, and dependent on vertical support from international structures.
Drawing on field-based examples from Somalia, Syria, Bosnia, Türkiye, and Gaza, this paper highlights how local-to-local partnerships, grounded in trust, shared technical expertise, and mutual accountability, can offer alternative, more legitimate, resilient, and effective governance models. This research foregrounds the role of local NGOs not merely as implementers but as strategic leaders and co-creators of humanitarian responses. It highlights how equitable partnerships—particularly between local actors across borders—can enhance access, legitimacy, and resilience, especially in navigating the Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus.
This contribution challenges conventional understandings of humanitarian governance by shifting the lens from formal coordination to the actual practices and leadership of local actors. It argues that equitable, horizontal partnerships among local actors have the transformative potential to reshape humanitarian priorities, address power asymmetries, and build a more just and inclusive humanitarian system from the ground up.
