The logistification of humanitarian relief

Abstract

This chapter explores the organisation of humanitarian relief through, and as, global supply chains, referred to as logistification of humanitarian relief. Sustainable Development Goal 10 underscores how inequalities are deepening for vulnerable populations facing existing humanitarian crises. We look at how the organisation of humanitarian relief actively contributes to this trend. The chapter analyses patterns of logistification of humanitarian relief: (1) The increased dominance of post-politics, (2) The interplay between bio- and necropolitics, and (3) The expansion of calculative logics. The chapter also suggests how making these patterns more explicit can provide opportunities for making humanitarian relief more responsible.