Now the world has moved out of a liberal international order, where does that leave humanitarianism? In this episode, Michael Barnett (University Professor at George Washington University) delivers the keynote address titled ‘Humanitarianism in a post-liberal age’ to open the Norwegian Centre for Humanitarian Studies Annual Conference, held in Bergen on 4 November 2022.
In his address, Barnett argues that humanitarianism was already exiting the liberal international order starting at the turn of this century, as the forces of destruction shifted from a liberal peace to securitisation; the forces of production from development to marketisation; and the forces of compassion from human rights to bounded cosmopolitanism. Where does humanitarianism go from here?
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Michael Barnett is a University Professor of International Affairs and Political Science at the George Washington University. His research interests span the Middle East, humanitarianism, global governance, global ethics and the United Nations. Professor Barnett’s published books include ‘Empire of Humanity: A History of Humanitarianism’ and ‘Power and Global Governance’ (co-edited with Raymond Duvall). More recently he also edited the collection ‘Humanitarianism and Human Rights: Worlds of Differences?’