Paper details

Paper authors	Nanci Hogan
In panel on	States and Humanitarian INGOs: Principles, Politics, and Identities
Paper presenter(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online

Abstract

Politics matters. It influences whose lives counts, whose don't. Politics shapes norms, values, ethics and identities to the point that some voices and needs go unrecognised or dismissed. Their lives don't count. Their voices were not heard. What role does identity play in providing humanitarian aid in a crisis. In the recent hurricane which decimated Puerto Rico, humanitarian aid from the Trump administration was slow in coming. In fact, reports are only now coming out, thanks to a Harvard research study, that more than 4,600 people died as a direct result of this hurricane. Although the hurricane in New Orleans was hugely detrimental to President George W. Bush's reputation, Hurricane has not had the same impact on President Trump's reputation? Why? Of course there are a number of factors, but power to define who's lives matter and whose don't are especially prevalent when it comes to a Puerto Rican minority population residing in a US territory rather than a US State. What Puerto Rican voices are there out there, i.e. the Mayor of San Juan, who have the potential to make a difference. How do we redraw the boundaries of identity such that we can hear and respond to the voices of these people? It is a matter of life and death. Using the work of Gloria Anzaldua and Judith Butler, feminist moral philosophers, I will explore the ways in which politics and power influence humanitarian efforts to their detriments and point to ways that we can be more responsive to those political and power dynamics at play and insist on advocating and helping those whose lives aren't deemed precious.

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