What IR means to us…

International Relations is valuable because it is a politically related topic and yet it usually relates to much more global, substantial issues than the paper-pushing tendencies in many capital cities. IR is special among poli-sci classes because it focuses on theoretical and ethical approaches to international issues. IR contains valuable philosophical considerations, such as how different actors-the world, state and individual-would approach [...]

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Public Health and the World Bank

It is interesting to note that the lending policies of the World Bank, one of the world’s largest International Financial Institutions, are intended to do more than improving the economies of developing countries.  A large part of the World Bank’s mission is also to improve health, sanitation, and nutrition in these nations in order to protect the [...]

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The Humanitarian Rule

     One of the most important aspects of humanitarian organizations is that they seek to be impartial in bringing aid to the people who need it most. Most have a publicly declared mission statement which defines just how the organization handles international crises. In this way, many humanitarian agencies primarily exercise rules-based ethics. They are less concerned [...]

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The Moral Imperative: Personal, Political, or both?

Ethical behavior is the driving force behind humanitarian aid organizations. Ethics probably is the political topic most closely related to humanitarian organizations. The very nature of such organizations is “the application of appropriate moral norms,” as Amstutuz writes. Very simply, aid organizations seek to provide what they perceive as basic human needs: food, shelter and medicine. [...]

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NGO’s deal with the state

The power of the state is important when analyzing the interaction between humanitarian aid organizations and the state they are attempting to serve.  There are numerous examples of how state power has the potential to limit or inhibit the roles of humanitarian agencies within a country.  By having a secure, legitimate government in place, the [...]

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The effects of the International System

Both the WHO and the Red Cross provide humanitarian services to a multitude of countries throughout the world: the WHO has 193 member states, and the Red Cross has a permanent presence in 60 different countries and conducts operations in 80. The dynamic of the international system therefore affects the missions and operations of both [...]

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NGO’s in Kenya–update

…Well, the references to Red Cross involvement in American news only seem to be a small, scattered amount of field reports/statistics. Some others have been concerning.  In Naivasha, for example, there was a massacre which took the Red Cross 3 days to respond to, according to a Kenyan citizen. While they were immediate responders to [...]

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NGO aid in Kenya–or the lack thereof

The current conflict in Kenya has provided a few insights for our understanding of NGO’s and how they operate. Personally, I always assume that when conflict occurs, the Red Cross, the World Health Organization, or some other organization will have an immediate response to the crisis. This stirring quote made me realize that NGO’s are not always [...]

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Saving the World?

For our semester-long blog project, we have chosen to focus on the work of two international relief organizations, the Red Cross and the World Health Organization.  We think that it will be interesting to contrast the efforts of these two groups because they have similar missions; however, the WHO is coordinated by the United Nations, while the Red Cross [...]

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Confessions of a teenage gas guzzler

International relations is closely tied to international trade and the world economy. We as Americans, when purchasing specific products, affect the economies of other countries by creating a demand for natural resources and/or cheap labor.  For example, Kristy loves scenic driving (and Catie loves accompanying, in the passenger seat).  The pleasure we take in consuming oil while driving contributes [...]

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