Humanitarian Assistance and Intervention
Reading For This Lesson
United Nations "Economic and Social Questions" p. 185-186 and pp. 334-363
Activating Your Thinking
Let's start our lesson on humanitarian assistance with three articles exploring the impact that Covid-19 has had on the humanitarian assistance and poverty.
In groups of 3, choose one of the three articles. prepare a summary of the ways in which Covid-19 is impacting the developing world to share with your group once you are done reviewing the article.
Everyone must read up to "Hunger in a Well Stocked World" from this article and answer the three questions below. After doing so, only the group member responsible for reporting on this article needs to complete the reading.
What is the difference between hunger and food insecurity?
What are some of the causes of food insecurity?
What is the link between caloric intake and nutrition and why might both need to be considered when looking at issues of hunger?
Objectives
Roles of Organizations, Institutions and Government in Promoting and Inhibiting Development
This unit focuses on what development means, how it can be pursued and what may help or stand in the way of people, communities and countries becoming better off in a comprehensive sense. Debates surrounding development are examined.
In this lesson we will be discussing material related to the following pieces of prescribed content from the Global Politics Guide:
Factors that may promote or inhibit development: Institutions
Lesson Content
Guiding Question:
Explain how it might be argued that developing countries are aiding developed countries?
Guiding Question:
What are several of the benefits of the early intervention approach to humanitarian assistance?
Effective Altruism
Viewing Questions:
What is effective altruism?
What are four things that stand in the way of people giving? Summarize Singer's response to each of the questions.
Why might effective altruism be a resolution to the Sisyphus myth?
Viewing Questions:
What is Will MacAskill's framework for doing the most good? Explain each.
How does he apply the framework to existential risks such as a global pandemic? Explain how he uses the three aspects of his framework to look at the urgency of addressing existential risks.
Viewing Prompts:
Why do some argue that we have no obligation to assist those living in poverty?
Why does Peter Singer argue that we are responsible to those living in poverty no matter where they live or the relationship we have with them?
What is Garrett Hardin's counter claim to Singer's argument?
What are the problems with Hardin's arguments?
Do you think that we have a greater responsibility to those we are in relationship with? Why do we tend to care for those who we have a relationship with over those we do not?
Approaches to NGOs
Guiding Question:
Why does Damberger argue that admitting failure can help NGOs?
Viewing Prompt:
As you watch this video take notes on the various reasons Pallotta offers for why we should reconsider the demand that charities have a low overhead.
Poverty Inc.
Poverty, Inc..mp4Viewing Questions to 54m 15s
Select a developed country to research the department responsible for foreign aid. What do they purport to do and what criticisms have they faced. One example might be USAID and this article that highlights some of the issues with the organization.
Global Politics in Action
Listen to the first 15 minutes of this podcast CBC's Ideas called How elite do-gooders 'fixing' the world are part of the problem with Anand Giridharadas
The International Monetary Fund Today
Guiding Question:
The IMF's neoliberal approach to loans has not changed much in recent years. Describe the most significant effects of the IMF's loans on Tunisia in 2018?
Guiding Questions:
What seems to be changing that was once central to IMF loans?
What used to be the IMF's central economic belief that was connected to the Washington Consensus?
What are some of the changes to economic structures that the IMF is now beginning to encourage?
Refugeeism
Viewing guide for both of the TED Talks on refugeeism:
Record some of the statistics surrounding refugeeism.
Record the challenges that refugees face.
What are some of the solutions to refugeeism suggested by the speakers?
Checking For Understanding
In groups, complete the activity on pages 362-363 of the Lamy text on Development Assistance as Foreign Policy Statecraft
The last word on helping those who need it most goes to the Pope and Mr. Rogers
Mr_R_clip.mp4How Should We Respond?
One of the questions that is often rightly asked as part of a lesson on humanitarian assistance or at the end of a unit on human rights or development is, "what can I do?" or maybe even "what should I do?"
As part of this lesson we have discussed effective altruism and at the end of William MacAskill's book he offers a summary of what we can do to make the world a better place; what we can do to respond to the urgings of Pope Francis and Mr. Rogers. While MacAskill's ideas are offered through the lens of effective altruism they are, in large part, questions any student should ask and attempt to answer as we consider how we might care more for our fellow citizens.
