ABSTRACT
This chapter argues that the most profound definitional struggle within humanitarianism concerns the idea of humanity, the one concept that humanitarianism cannot exist without. Amid the definitional turmoil that has beset humanitarianism in recent years, perhaps the only constant is the principle of humanity. Arguably the least contentious of the core humanitarian principles, at first glance it also seems to be the least political. While a great deal of literature tackles the tensions thrown up by the principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence, humanity is usually taken as a given, as the starting point for all humanitarian action. This chapter will argue that while humanity should indeed be understood as lying at the very the core of humanitarianism, it should simultaneously be seen as the beating heart of the politics which invariably animates it. Far from being the least political of humanitarian principles, it is in fact the most political. The chapter explores the implications of humanitarians acting ‘in the name of humanity’, and the relationship between humanity, inhumanity and human suffering, in order to provide a number of openings to help us to understand the contours of humanitarianism as a ‘politics of humanity’.
