Panel details

Panel organiser(s) will be presenting	In-Person / Online
Number of paper presentations	23
Location	Istanbul

Abstract

Humanitarian governance is often associated with formal coordination mechanisms and institutional frameworks, but 'real’ governance is far more fluid, negotiated, and context-dependent. Real governance (de Sardan 2008, Titeca and de Herdt 2011) concerns the ways in which (in)formal governance arrangements manifest and evolve in practice, influenced by interests, power differentials, organizational culture and other factors that enable or constrain the composition and operation of humanitarian action.
This panel draws on a research project that explored how humanitarian governance is shaped at multi levels through the actions, demands, and leadership of local actors, institutions, and crisis-affected communities.
The panel invites contributions that challenge conventional understandings of humanitarian governance and bring attention to its everyday forms and political dimensions. Presentations may explore, among other topics, how accountability mechanisms are shaped and contested; how advocacy by local actors and affected populations influences humanitarian priorities; and how alternative governance arrangements and principles emerge in response to formal system gaps or exclusions. Emphasis is placed on the role of people affected by crises but as active agents in shaping how humanitarian action is governed.
In a time of intensifying crises, shrinking humanitarian space, and increasing calls for localization, there is a need to rethink how governance is practiced, by whom, and in whose interests. This panel invites researchers, practitioners, and policy actors to reflect on these dynamics through conceptual, empirical, or operational lenses.
Follow-up outputs may include blog posts and, depending on panelists’ interest, a special journal issue or article.

Paper presentations