The Long Shadow of Band Aid Humanitarianism: Revisiting the dynamics between famine and celebrity

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Abstract

This paper traces the emergence of Band Aid celebrity humanitarianism and its ongoing legacy, making use of Tester's concept of 'common-sense humanitarianism' and Fassin's reasoning on 'humanitarian governance'. Using different examples of celebrity engagement during the 1983-85 famine in Ethiopia and the 2011 famine in Somalia, it argues that the, in essence, anti-political understanding of disaster propagated by celebrity humanitarians not only masks the underlying dynamics of power and of social and economic relations that underpin every famine, but at the same time manufactures a truth about 'Africa' and other places perceived as destitute. In doing so celebrity humanitarianism more generally legitimises a global hegemonic system characterised by increasing inequalities. © 2013 Southseries Inc.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)470-484
Number of pages14
JournalThird World Quarterly
Volume34
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2013

Keywords

  • celebrity - famine - humanitarian governance

Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms

  • Global Development Institute

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