ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the sets of norms used and understood by both the external and the internal and focuses on the normative concepts of 'statehood' and 'humanitarianism'. It discusses the theoretical framework, the state of exception concept, securitisation theory and a presentation of the methodology. A state-led humanitarian intervention which uses military resources will not be discussed, debated, understood and reacted to in the same way as a non-violent intervention by a humanitarian international non-governmental organisation (INGO). Humanitarians are concerned with human suffering, human interaction and the human ability to feel empathy and compassion for, and then respond to, the suffering of other humans. The expectation moving into the post-Cold War era was that aid would be re-focused on needs. Humanitarian and development goals would take over from military and political objectives. Based on the findings a negotiation structure is proposed to conceptualise the evolving relationship between states and humanitarian INGOs.
