Although willing to answer the call, humanitarian organizations have been generally ill-equipped for what they have found: war zones where civilian populations are the intended victims, where access is difficult, where aid workers are in danger of being perceived as a threat or as a resource to be captured, and where their own physical safety is in doubt. Their standard operating procedures provided little guidance for how they might operate in places such as Bosnia, Rwanda, Afghanistan, and Iraq, forcing them to improve constantly. When, if ever, should they request armed protection and work with states? Would armed protection facilitate access or create the impression that aid workers were now … Continue reading Michael Barnett, Thomas G. Weiss