The Project Why HumanEuroMed?

Why HumanEuroMed?

In recent years, scholarly interest in international humanitarianism has increased greatly. These studies have, however, mainly examined the experience of donor countries in northern Europe as well as the United States, while the countries of southern Europe have largely been overlooked. Consequently, the history of humanitarianism ended up putting forward a skewed vision. On the one hand, the United States and the 'driving' countries of Europe are portrayed as central players in the construction of the modern system of international aid. On the other hand, the countries of Mediterranean Europe have been seen as marginal players, scarcely able to play an active role because they themselves were backward and weak, politically and economically.

 

HumanEuroMed challenges this skewed vision. It reframes the history of international aid in the second half of the 20th century by putting the countries of Mediterranean Europe at the centre of its inquiry. In doing so, HumanEuroMed innovatively asks: what does the history of humanitarianism look like when we bring the Mediterranean actors and their main recipients of international aid back in focus?

 

For HumanEuroMed in short look at the video on the University of Florence YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tWTKDBuYgk&list=PLenr-l5BUygLSfSPq9xBjHjHIO3-0vKDP