UNDERSTANDING "A-POLITICAL" HUMANITARIANISM: THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES AND THE ICRC'S DISCOURSE ON THE SYRIAN CONFLICT

Abstract

This thesis analyses the relationship between humanitarianism and politics through the ICRC's discourse on the "fundamental" principles and the Syrian conflict. The thesis focuses on the ICRC's discourse of "a-political" humanitarianism and the relationship between principles, which is claimed to lack concern for "root causes". The thesis suggests that van Dijk's social cognitive approach helps reveal the ideological mental models and social power relations embedded in the discourse. It treats social cognition as shared social representations and the macrostructures that inform them, such as ideology, power relations, and knowledge production. It thus seeks to explain how and why discourse works and how it functions ideologically. This thesis argues that the ICRC's discourse of humanitarianism and the reductionism of the Syrian war narrative constitute the most critical ideological function of its discourse. It also claims that the ICRC's liberal, optimistic ideology, which intersects with Orientalism, promotes a negative peace in Syria. This negative peace, which aims to preserve the international system, encourages the reproduction of the status quo of entangled local and international power dynamics. Finally, the thesis concludes that the discourse of humanitarianism plays a critical role in constructing the idea of "their conflict" and "our peace". Thus, the thesis argues that a different kind of humanitarianism is impossible without a critical engagement of the political roles of constructing the meaning of peace and conflict under the "humanitarian" label.

Date of Award	1 Feb 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The University of Manchester
Supervisor	Tim Jacoby (Main Supervisor) & Erla Thrandardottir (Co Supervisor)