Africa · 2006 · 91 citations · 4 references
Social SciencesAnthropologyConflict StudiesArmed ConflictHumanitarian InterventionPolitical AnthropologyConflict In AfricaHumanitarian AccessHumanitarian AnthropologyHumanitarian GovernanceHumanitarian ReliefPost-conflict Ethnic RelationsAccess In Conflict ZonesEthno-political ConflictHumanitarian Access ConstraintsHumanitarian Access ControlInternational Humanitarian ResponseNegotiation Bargaining PowerPolitical AwarenessPolitical Context Studies
Abstract Based on field research carried out in 2004, this article focuses on how Ituribased Congolese relief workers negotiate humanitarian access with roadblock militias. Experiences and testimonies highlight the importance of sociocultural and political awareness during relief work induced by conflict. It is demonstrated that relief workers in conflict zones do not (and cannot) shed their ethnic identities; that instead they accept that a perceived ethnic identity brings strategic advantages as well as disadvantages. Further, a relief worker's bargaining power is shown to be influenced by militia perceptions of how his/her organization is positioned in the conflict. The overall argument responds to the renewed policy interest in debating the political context of humanitarian intervention.
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